HomeMy WebLinkAboutclosed_caption09:01:22 Okay. So it looks like it's 9 o'clock on all the devices, at least.
09:01:29 And so I will call this November 2822 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners to order.
09:01:36 Good morning. Everyone. I hope everyone had a great long weekend, and I know I saw a picture of Kate ice skating and was jealous.
09:01:45 So anyway, nice to be back with you all, and as we do every Monday morning we start off with public comments, and so if there's anyone who's joined us this morning online who
wishes to make a public comment please use the raise hand button at the bottom of the Zoom screen we'll leave public comment up until
09:02:06 9 30, and look for those hands going up good. A few written specific written comments this morning, and we are noticing comments on the forestry work we've been, doing and taking
those into consideration and we will be having our workshop on Wednesday keeping our eyes on the weather
09:02:32 forecast for Wednesday there was some concern of snow, but we we'll move forward with our hybrid workshop and Wednesday and did notice a couple of nixel alerts this morning
for car accidents on 101 and one o 4 so be careful out there
09:02:49 People. Some. Some I see spots on the roads, anything for the good of the order from the team this morning
09:03:02 Not no, nothing prepared. Okay. Well, while we wait for any hands to go up, we can consider consent, agenda it's a short one.
09:03:20 This morning we we mark, and I actually predicted meeting might go quite quickly today.
09:03:25 But we have a short consent agenda. Were there any items that anyone wanted to pull out from consistent agenda
09:03:32 Not pull out couple comments if I can remember what I was gonna ask about
09:03:46 Oh, I was curious. Just consider the general one kind of brought up the Blake decision again.
09:03:53 I just it'd be great, especially before our clerk departs at the end of the month to get an update on.
09:03:58 This is not about Lfos. This is just about increasing public defense.
09:04:04 It looked like entirely for Blake defendants, basically but qualified defendants and just wondering if we could get an update on how the Lfos and the other Blake issues are
going it's hard to look at this and wonder I guess well, I I look at this and I wonder what's
09:04:21 The big picture about how this is coming up, matching up against our budget.
09:04:24 Yeah, that would be great, actually sure.
09:05:45 Take a little while, you still can't hear us, Kate.
09:05:48 No! Oh, great! I am fixed it okay, so just jiggling.
09:05:57 I've just been notified. My computer is gonna restart.
09:06:00 So you're gonna lose me and great, we'll take over running the meeting
09:06:10 Okay.
09:06:13 Restarting. Okay. So consent. We were talking about consent.
09:05:48 You're back. Just came back.
09:06:18 Did you hear any of that on consent talking about Kate asking if we could get Ruth to come and talk about the Blake decision kind of in regards to consent agenda, one about
some of the additional funds for Blake defenses and hearing about the lfs correct
09:06:46 And I would just note on number 5 consent agenda number 5.
09:06:52 There's a dollar side missing in front of the amount.
09:06:54 So that's just a type. Bow
09:06:58 The amount of $6,344 in the agenda.
09:07:04 That's correct. I'm the one I have, so that got fixed between the time I printed.
09:06:32 Yep, sounds good. Maybe just call out that we are canceling the December 20 seventh meeting, which we often do between Christmas and New Years, because there's often not a lot
of business to conduct and a lot of folks out on vacation.
09:07:09 This. And okay, great anything else on consent
09:07:18 You know I just it. It was a thought provoking consent.
09:07:22 Agenda, you know. Good good work on here, but seeing the navigator moving from, you know 51 of F. And F.
09:07:32 T. E. And Mental Health professional oversight do 1Â h a week, I think, is more in line with what we expected, so I guess maybe I'm just signaling my my interest in.
09:07:48 I feel like I want to go out and do it right along with Sheriff's deputy, and also with the navigator.
09:07:52 It's been a long time since I've done that.
09:07:55 So eager for that so it's just thought provoking.
09:07:58 But I am not no, no notes or anything that needs to get pulled.
09:08:02 Glad to see steps moving forward with the port, had, like Wastewater Prep Project Environmental preparing.
09:08:14 You can send agenda number 4,
09:08:20 Okay.
09:08:25 Mr. Tears, we will bring you over it for public comment.
09:08:30 I'm assuming that's why your hand is up.
09:08:32 I'm I'm still unable to look at my computer.
09:08:35 So
09:08:38 Carolyn will bring you over
09:08:44 Yes, thank you. Yes, it was raised for public comment. I wanted to comment on the consent agenda, the $270,000 contract.
09:08:54 No bid contract. I I I find that concerning seems like an awfully routine sort of thing putting in electrical panels and generators and such like that, and you know for the
account for the commissioners to declare that that computer room as a special facility which is an
09:09:18 undefined legal term by the way, I know it's in the Rcw.
09:09:21 But that means you could declare just about anything that you wanted as a special facility.
09:09:27 That that just is troubling. I mean there are. There are many electrical contractors in account, and to put out a no bid.
09:09:34 $270,000 expense like that, with no, input that I just seems I'm not gonna say suspicious, but it's just as concerning that that.
09:09:45 It just wasn't done through the regular bidding process.
09:09:49 Sure the the computer facilities are sensitive and need to be secured and so forth.
09:09:55 But that doesn't have anything to do with running a wire to it or putting a generator outside.
09:10:01 So like, I say, I'm not just disappointed to see that this was done in the way that it was done.
09:10:11 Thank you, Mr. Tears. I believe we talked about this a bit last week on the agenda.
09:10:16 Mark, do you want to add anything here? If you want to know how expensive electrical work is these days, call it Kevin Street at the Ped.
09:10:27 There's a super high demand for components that are going into that project, and I knew we were gonna hear somebody complain about it.
09:10:35 But I was prepared for that, and I think Mr. Tears is right.
09:10:40 I don't think anything's gonna change, and my hope is that you approve that contract it's been evaluated and it's not running a wire much more to it than that yeah, we've been
just a reminder that we when we're talking we need to talk it right into the
09:10:58 Microphone people are having a hard time hearing
09:11:04 You come in? And in response to that, no, you're just walked in.
09:11:07 Okay, okay, anything else. On consent agenda, you know.
09:11:14 I'll just add to respond to Mr. Cheers's comment.
09:11:18 I mean we did have a conversation about this, and you know, designated a special facility last week.
09:11:22 It's we've. I've there's so many electrical companies that will bid, and I think that we had a good bid in hand for for something that is a critical critical piece of our resilience
so I don't know the analysis I heard last week.
09:11:40 And and I guess, boy is my confidence that this was the right, the right choice to make
09:11:47 And I, agree with that. Do you wanna make a motion?
09:11:52 I think that yeah, I'll move that we approve the consent agenda, as presented
09:11:56 I'll second
09:11:57 All in favor. Alright, I okay, consent. Agenda is adopted, and any other comments from the public.
09:12:12 More people have joined us. Anyone with the public comment they brought this morning.
09:12:17 We public, comment is still open until 9 30, and we look forward to hearing from you each week seeing some new names on the list on the attendee list and no phone number.
09:12:31 So I know it's all zoom if anyone wants to make a public comment, you can use the raise hand button at the bottom of your zoom screen other than that.
09:12:39 Do we want to do a little bit of briefing from last week, and I'll keep my eyes on the hands and the zoom room.
09:12:47 Okay. You want me to go first
09:12:55 Okay. Alright.
09:12:59 Let's see last week a short week. Of course, all we're here together on Monday, and that's this week
09:13:10 Yesterday last week I went to the the But Edc has got this yeah.
09:13:17 Sector analysis project. That's kind of starting to wrap up or the analysis has happening.
09:13:22 So I participated in that Tuesday morning, and you know still kind of giving input to the consultants about what would be valuable talk about, you know leakage, incubating businesses
I mentioned Glenn Cove a little bit as you know an area that would benefit from strategic planning and
09:13:43 Conversations between both the county and the city. So yeah, still more data to come.
09:13:50 And after that we had a special meeting of Jeff Com.
09:13:55 Where we had the the sad duty of letting Stacy hubrics go.
09:14:02 Our director at Jeff Com. After a fairly short tenure. It's getting pretty untenable at at Jeff calm, and we have a good interim solution enriched past the the lead tech is
is gonna kind of manage in the in the short term as we look for a new director really really
09:14:19 sad to see Stacy go. She bought a lot of positive things to the to the role, but ultimately we were really afraid that we are going to lose our ability to offer this critical
31 service so that was Tuesday morning went to a Polycap Thanksgiving. Celebration.
09:14:43 Apparently there's been a a surplus of sweet potatoes, and they've been all been using sweet potatoes all the time.
09:14:50 So is who can make the best sweet potato thing, and I, as someone who hates we potatoes, eighteight them all, and and judge them and every single one of them was good, but they
were all they were all good. They were all they were all good. You know that's a politician gray I I still
09:15:10 Don't have sweet potatoes at our Thanksgiving celebration, I think largely because my antipathy for them, but lots of creative things a little lot because we're good.
09:15:23 Oh, yeah, they're, you know. Casserole covered in basically pecan pie. That was pretty good, you know.
09:15:27 That's that's usually how I have to eat them.
09:15:29 But but all good, but the lot cause in the peta pockets, with the kind of the apple mixed in with it.
09:15:37 We're just perfect and creative. Met with a some residents that day as well.
09:15:45 And then on Wednesday met with some people about forest issues, and then we had.
09:15:54 The Coswell brown is opening up for for new folks on December first, so Robin Ping board, and the shelter manager had a zoom call for all you know providers and advocates that
could attend to kind of go over the processes basically and the first step for anyone is to get into
09:16:13 The coordinated entry system, and that has some criteria in there and then, other than that criteria to be used to assign the 36 people that can get into Coswell Brown they're.
09:16:28 Gonna start, I think on. Let me see. Oh, wait! I said. The wrong date
09:16:35 Now I'm forgetting the exact date. I think it's
09:16:39 Oh, I'm gonna have to double check the date. I I didn't write it down
09:16:47 Hi! Today. Sorry. Monday, 1228, and tomorrow 1229.
09:16:54 So if you know anyone that would benefit from applying they need to, you know.
09:16:59 Just go to only cap and Upper Sims way and you can get into the coordinated entry just directly.
09:17:04 There other criteria other than that coordinated entry which is 50 of the 100 points for any applicants.
09:17:10 There's a a benefit given to families. There's a benefit given to those who have volunteered at Coswell Brown a small benefit, but mostly it's first come first.
09:17:20 Serve as we try to fill the remaining 16 spots for the you know fully functioning phase 2 like the death star from the original trilogy.
09:17:29 Now, then I was off Thursday and Friday had a lovely thanksgiving with my family, and you know, took care of all those last property chores before the the one winter weather
really comes so very relaxing weekend awesome that was my last week
09:17:51 Okay. So we're gonna pause from briefing and take public comments because public comment is open till 9 30, Patricia, I see your hand raised on the zoom room.
09:18:02 And I'm I'm wondering if Steven wants to make a comment this morning, Stephen, since you're on you made the trip in the room with us.
09:18:08 Why don't you go first
09:18:11 And then, Patricia, you'll be next
09:18:23 Yeah, thanks so much. Look. I wanted to first time start off to.
09:18:29 I just wanted to follow up on some things from the Never November seventh meeting.
09:18:34 There was this really interesting worshipped workshop about the identification of parcels in East Jefferson County for inclusion in dnr carbon phase, 2 project and there was
a lot.
09:18:44 Of public comment, and I I'm just asking you if there's any follow ups on that where that stands, what the next steps are going to be.
09:18:53 It just seemed to be something that raised a number of issues that I'm just curious how that's all going to turn out.
09:18:59 Gosh! Also following up I I had quoted a Stanford shown that there was only 3 and a 1 million infant.
09:19:15 It's below 20 Cfr. Chance case, fatality rate, and it's only point 0.
09:19:24 3 5% for people under 60, and the public health officer had responded that that anyone can just sort of say, Stanford, and who knows what that means.
09:19:35 But anyway, that came from Johnny and Eightys, the the one of the premier health authorities and epidemiologists, and they retrospectively studied all these things, and so they
were finding you know that that you just had this in particular for young kids practically very very proud of
09:19:53 Minimal minimal and minuscule chance, and she responded that there was really one or 2%, and I'm curious what her sources are for that, because that seems like that kind of
comes from the early sort of fierce stories until people were able to later like in eightys did sort of check things out and
09:20:07 See what the real risks were. Also. You know the Cdc.
09:20:11 Is still showing that 5% that 95% of the Covid deaths came from people who had multiple comorbidities in an average of 3 additional serious comorbidities.
09:20:25 And so what it happened with the Covid risks is that there was this massive skew where the people who were most sick or oldest were in quite a lot of risk but for the 95% of
the rest of the public the risks were as in 80 is found much much less and so
09:20:45 carrying on along here. Gosh! I saw this Dr.
09:20:48 Johna on Hulu about Elizabeth Holmes and Ferranos, and it was fascinating seeing how she had fudged the studies that justified her product, and likewise around the same time
coming out right now Ftx has been revealed to be to be a
09:21:04 Ponzi scheme. That's this big cryptocurrency thing that's claimed to have 6 billion dollars of assets and now, it only has $600,000 of assets and the founder is fleet has flown
to the Bahamas after transferring a
09:21:16 1,000. Excuse me a 1 billion dollars to himself right before declaring bankruptcy, and they were this number 2 funder of one of the parties in the most recent elections, and
they also put hundreds.
09:21:29 And they put millions and millions of dollars into Covid preparedness and funded a lot of these studies and stuff.
09:21:35 So I was going somewhere with that. But I've run out of time.
09:21:38 Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Schumacher, and we have Patricia Jones with her hand raised.
09:21:46 If there's anyone else who's joined us this morning online who would like to make a public comment. You can use the raise hand button at the bottom of the zoom, screen, and
we'll be bring you over after we hear from Patricia, Jones, good morning, Patricia.
09:22:00 Good morning, Commissioners, Dr. Patricia Jones, Olympic Force Coalition, Quilseine, Washington.
09:22:06 Thank you for the opportunity to comment this morning I wanted to start with expressing appreciation from our organization for the continuing effort to highlight and grapple
with the Forestry issues for our county our members are looking forward to the workshop this week and hearing about the report on our force from chickadee
09:22:25 Forestry, and the options for next steps. Thank you so much for the investment of time and energy and resources.
09:22:32 We are a forest county, and it's appropriate that we take a Clearite.
09:22:37 Look at how our landscape is managed by the Department of Natural Resources also very much appreciate the Dnr.
09:22:43 Quarterly meetings are held in public as this morning, and it's an important opportunity to learn from the agency tea up important questions and engage with agency staff and
for the workshop.
09:22:56 You held that was mentioned earlier on parcel selection for phase.
09:23:02 2 of the carbon wanted to share a few comments that we forwarded to Dnr about phase 2 selection this morning organization is generally supportive of the project but would like
to see much more information about how the parcels were selected how the high conservation value criteria
09:23:19 Applies to Jefferson County, stands from particularly to aspects, endangered species didn't seem to be highlighted.
09:23:26 As much as is important and older legacy forests concerned that the stands Dnr has included or younger, stands following with their view that younger stands sequester more carbon
at a faster rate.
09:23:40 While they sequester at a faster rate. It's relatively subtle science that they don't sequester anywhere near the volume that older forests do at the actual time.
09:23:50 We need the for the sequestration to take place also.
09:23:55 We've asked Dnr to consider in their program a robust monitoring project.
09:23:59 That question was not adequately answered by Staff at your workshop.
09:24:04 Any type of discern disturbance, disease, extreme weather, fire can turn these stands to Emitter, stands, so they do need to be monitored, and they could wrap around research.
09:24:16 We have early indication. We're losing our species.
09:24:18 The Western Red cedar or no reason not to try and build into this project monitoring that could also be important for the scientific research.
09:24:29 We will need going forward. I will forward our full comment to you for your information.
09:24:33 Thank you for the opportunity to to Yup the comment this morning. Thank you.
09:24:39 Thank you, Patricia. We appreciate you being here. Is there anybody else with us online this morning?
09:24:45 Who would like to make a public comment so you can use the raise hand button at the bottom of your zoom screen I'm not seeing anyone with us on on the phone, so and we have
one member of the public with us in the room and he already.
09:25:01 Made a public comment, so I'm looking to you on Zoom if anyone wants to make a comment.
09:25:06 Got 5 more minutes in our open public comment period, and I can start out responding to the next steps on carbon and the forest issue.
09:25:17 We have a workshop scheduled for Wednesday with tickete forestry, and also with our colleagues at Dnr and that's gonna be at 4 30 and it's gonna be a hybrid workshop unless
the weather the weather has other plans for
09:25:34 Us but we're planning for a hybrid workshop with in person participation at the Jefferson County Library and port headlock at 4 30 the from 4 30 to 6 30 or on zoom so if you're
interested in participating in person of course you can just come but
09:25:50 I'm trying to keep a track of how many people are planning to attend just for logistics reasons so reach out to me.
09:25:58 Heidi at my email, which is on the county website and let me know if you have any questions.
09:26:09 Is is there anything else we want to add about that?
09:26:11 I mean, we've been receiving a number of comments just to Stephen.
09:26:14 You're in the room with us, and following up on the November the seventh workshop.
09:26:17 We have gotten a few written public comments, many in support of Jefferson County, participating in the carbon project, many with specific questions about things like Dr.
09:26:29 Jones was just mentioning parcel selection, so I think it's safe to say that the timing of the carbon Project phase, 2 parcel announcement has kind of reframed our conversation
about forestry and we're really looking at this opportunity and trying to understand if
09:26:47 It's a how it would impact both the forest and Jefferson County, that county, and also the all the junior taxing districts that rely on the revenue from the timber stands in
Jefferson county, so all of these kind of considerations will be discussed in much more
09:27:06 Detail at the workshop on Wednesday
09:27:09 Anything else on
09:27:12 You know we're we're also meeting with Dnr to go our our quarterly report at 1030 this morning, so we're worth catching in just to see our ongoing communication with with Dnr
but yeah, you know we're still gathering information continuing
09:27:27 The conversation, and just trying to learn right now is where I would put it.
09:27:33 You know, I think their deadline for responding. They gave us a little more time, but it's coming.
09:27:40 It's passed right. It was November, eighteenth, but we have until Christmas to kind.
09:27:46 Of give feedback to Dnr about. You know the parcel selection, the quantum, the quality, and all that.
09:27:54 So yeah, tune in on Wednesday. I think it'll be an interesting meeting.
09:27:57 I would did take. The opportunity over the weekend to go walk in a couple of the carbon project parcel, proposed parcels, and I know you've been out to the quimper last wilderness
and wow yeah, I was actually blown away by it so anyway.
09:28:21 Just to respond to Miss Jones about the endangered species you know there's been a lot of work with Dnr.
09:28:28 Already with endangered species, the marble morale that of course encumbered many lands across the landscape, and Dnr you know manages these things and landscapes not along
county lines, and we were you know I would say fortunate I guess and that our encumbered lands were
09:28:45 much less than than many of our neighbors, and most of the encumbered lands for the habitat conservation, plan which is a 20 year effort.
09:28:54 Now we're in school, board and State State, not the transfer lands.
09:29:02 But what's the other class? Common school and so that work has been ongoing.
09:29:11 You know the carbon project is is is different, though I also would love to see, and might plum our our Dnr peers today a little bit more about the process they were through
but they used, what I can remember exactly what it's called but it's not they didn't create the criteria.
09:29:26 Or the gratings or the the high-conformation value is established.
09:29:32 The list of criteria that they just plugged plug different places into, and and then talking to Drew.
09:29:39 Who's our Dnr District district Planner? It sounds like they basically just plugged all the lands into it.
09:29:47 How much political receptivity factored in is something that I'm I'm curious about, and that we probably won't get a real transparent answer about. Yeah, I'm not really interested
to have more conversations with DNA
09:30:06 Anything else, Kate, any any more response
09:30:10 No I think you guys covered it well.
09:30:12 Okay. Well, it's 9 30. So I'm gonna close public comments for this morning.
09:30:19 And I guess we can continue with briefing. We were.
09:30:24 We were to Kate
09:30:26 Yeah, I'll talk about last week, which was a a short week for all of us.
09:30:32 And especially short for me. I'm gonna be in and out a fair amount with some family medical stuff.
09:30:41 So was last week, and we'll continue to be for the next couple of weeks.
09:30:45 So bear with me. Last week goes out Monday.
09:30:48 Medical appointments and Tuesday went to Port Angeles to meet with Dr.
09:30:54 Susie Ames, the new president of Peninsula College, and as everyone has indicated, she is just a breath of fresh air and brings a ton of energy and a lot of yeses to the table
which is really exciting, including it looks like they are willing, to pencil colleges.
09:31:09 Willing to host the pilot project that we are proposing to the Legislature for the electrical apprenticeships, so that would be a a pilot whereby, you know, as a rural community
we demonstrate that we can provide that on classroom training to folks
09:31:29 Who are trying to reach their journey. Level certification for electricians, which is really important for for our local economy.
09:31:37 Wednesday I met with Jefferson health care to talk about climate change, some of the work that we've been trying to embark on with board of health.
09:31:45 You know again trying to delineate kind of who's doing what and how can we be more strategic in that?
09:31:49 So it's really great that they're coming to the table and want to be partners.
09:31:54 As we look at climate change and just trying to figure out who who should hold the the kind.
09:32:00 Of coordination role for that when so many organizations are interested, we have our climate Action Committee, which is extremely helpful, but it's a volunteer committee so
you know.
09:32:10 I think something we we will be talking about more at board of health.
09:32:15 Want us to give some thought to. Maybe as we think about work planning as we move into 23, spent some more time with the association of counties working on the planning for
the newly elected Commissioners retreat which is next week I'll be going down to
09:32:34 Olympia to help with that. And then some more legislative work with Representative Thurringer, as well as our North Olympic Legislative alliance.
09:32:47 So maybe we could try and have a legislative update on a upcoming agenda as as those come together.
09:32:54 You know our board has typically not done a our own legislative agenda, and part because that's we have Nola.
09:33:01 We have Lossack, but you know, curious. If we think we want to try to define our priorities or just be kind of in responsive mode with those other issues so but happy to dive
more into a legislative update later in for some time in december that's all for Me
09:33:20 Sounds good. And I Yeah, we have all had a short week last week, although I would say the Monday Commissioner meeting was jam packed so it took a while to shake out of that
for me doing just doing follow up tasks on Tuesday and Wednesday and I was grateful to have
09:33:35 Some time to do, some follow up tasks that with Mark and Mallory she could do forestry Mallory and Katherine Copis on Tuesday to do a little planning for the workshop this week
and met with chief black he has some questions about Dnr's
09:33:56 allocation, of surplus equipment. They've said that we are not in a we're not a priority for for allocating their surplus wild landfire equipment, to and he has some reasons
why we'll be they might want to reconsider that
09:34:18 and so I am gonna organize a meeting with he and Senator Van der Wagg, Senator Cinder van Wigg is a firefighter.
09:34:26 So I've thought that he would be the right person for she, black to meet and talk about his concerns with.
09:34:32 So I think that we're maybe gonna do that the end of this week, and then couple of meetings in in preparation for next week or this tomorrow or Wednesdays workshop on forestry
last week and then planning for our agenda today I'll be at it was a quick meeting for Mark
09:34:55 and I cause the agenda was not as packed for this week as it was for last week, so but I was so grateful for time on Tuesday, and Wednesday, because I had a list 3 days long
of tasks to do and didn't even get to all of them so
09:35:12 just grateful for some breathing time, which I'm finding as the new Commissioner.
09:35:18 Still, there's a lot to do, he guys, and I'm grateful for our staff, I mean Thanksgiving is the time to reflect on what we're grateful for.
09:35:29 And we have an amazing team, in the Commissioner's office and our our Hr.
09:35:34 Team, and I spent quite a bit of time on Wednesday, just feeling grateful for our team and and expressing my gratitude, and then I I mentioned earlier.
09:35:43 I did go on a walk of a couple of the carbon parcels that I'd never been to.
09:35:48 I think I've been to most of them, or quite at least in the vicinity of most of them.
09:35:53 Now it's interesting when you see things for sand and on the ground.
09:36:00 You know you remember what? How's how striking and breathtaking standable growth for us?
09:36:06 Can be, and the diversity and beauty of of nature.
09:36:15 So yeah, that was my last week.
09:36:21 You wanna look ahead. We have the next thing we have on our agenda is not till 1030, so we might get a little break here.
09:36:29 But let's do calendaring cause this week does look packed for me I don't know about you guys.
09:36:36 More than last week, for sure. Yeah pretty pretty packed
09:36:40 You wanna go first, grade, oh, and I forgot a couple of things last week.
09:36:45 I'll just briefly touch on. We also had the initial meeting for the point in time.
09:36:50 Count, the annual homeless count is coming in January.
09:36:53 We had our our Kickoff meeting earlier even than commerce itself did so.
09:36:58 We're well ahead and have some some new stakeholders to to participate, and then also had a a northward Canal chamber meeting Monday night.
09:37:07 It was packed day Monday for me, and then, after that had a meeting with the quilting community about management of the quilting community center.
09:37:20 The contract requires an advisory board. That is kind of been fallow for quite a few years, so it was an effort to bring interested members into that fold, and a lot of people
signed up so we have advisory boards.
09:37:31 For both the Brin and the Quill scene. Community centers.
09:37:35 Now as the contract stipulates, but it just been we've had long established leadership at both of those community centers, so it really hasn't it just hasn't happened so trying
to correct that and then looking at this week meeting with some staff tomorrow.
09:37:53 From Vermont, and public health, and then I'm getting a probably not going to the Wasac meeting which is about today, which is about the opioid distributions.
09:38:03 But I am meeting with the director of the Salesh Vhas O, tomorrow to talk about opioid settlement distributions, and and our 3 county area, and then going to a meeting with
long live the kings about the canal bridge management and I'm not really sure what that is and then we have the all of the Budget committee
09:38:24 Meeting on Wednesday at 8, 30, and then we have a special meeting of the Housing Fund Board to review 1,590 Rfp: we're trying to, I think, as I think we said, support more of
the projects that were quite a considerably over the funds.
09:38:42 That we had in the recording fees, the 1 48 and 149.
09:38:46 So we're talking about issuing Rfp.
09:38:50 Which is essentially identical to the 1, 49 49 Rfps to see if we can't use more of those funds that we have projected for this year to for the good work with the transitional
support of housing primary and there's a little
09:39:09 Bit of a dance around with the recommendations we already made.
09:39:13 Last week we took up. We briefly discussed how we weren't going to forward.
09:39:16 The recommendations until this process was completed. So this is the process and then, as we've discussed already, we're all meeting at the library or in virtual format at 4
Pm.
09:39:27 For the forestry workshop on Thursday we have the Oh, 3 A.
09:39:36 The Olympic Area Agency on aging meeting.
09:39:38 And then meeting with an engineer about the deck of bush and quilting floodplain, project down in quillsene.
09:39:47 Thursday afternoon, and we have a virtual solid waste advisory committee meeting Thursday afternoon.
09:39:55 Then on Friday I'm joining. I'm meeting with Dcd environmental public health.
09:40:02 I think as well, and Pla Portland Low associates first as they're working on Olympic Terrace, too, and other topics.
09:40:12 I'm just kinda sitting in on that, and then how's America is going on Friday afternoon?
09:40:19 And those are my high points this week
09:40:24 And I don't know if this would be. This is just a question about there's a Hood Canal management committee meeting, do you?
09:40:33 Again, those are does, that's the one I was talking about.
09:40:41 Yeah. Yeah. So I was planning to. But I don't have to someone else.
09:40:41 No, just it was on my calendar as a tentative, but I I was assuming that that was the same thing you were talking about.
09:40:48 It is, and I originally, when I agreed to it, I thought it was with washed out.
09:40:53 Not long live the King! So you know, shows what I know about it.
09:40:56 But I was planning to attend okay, great
09:41:01 I think we all get invited to it, and we've we've kind of taken turns attending it
09:41:09 Well, I am more than happy to not attend it, because I have 3 other things in that time. Slot.
09:41:15 So I will do it great
09:41:17 Yeah, I I do think it's important that one of us go.
09:41:24 You know there's a pretty active effort calling for basically the putting out bridge to be replaced, which is, you know, that would have major impacts here and just something.
I think we we need to keep our our finger on the pulse of so thanks for going Greg
09:41:45 My pleasure.
09:41:47 Yeah, so, Kate, do you want me to go next? Or would you like to go next, or that?
09:41:52 What's going on this week
09:41:53 I I can go. Let's see so I'm still in in Washington, DC.
09:42:02 So bit of a a light week, although I am tending a number of meetings and spending a lot of time preparing for if I let you know I'm doing a fellowship this Weekend I'll Be out
Friday.
09:42:13 Saturday, Sunday. I'm doing a fellowship on bipartisan governance.
09:42:18 So been doing. Reading Aristotle and Kant and John Block and it's that I've reeled a flash back to undergrad.
09:42:29 But interesting to to do. Some deep dive, and feels good at this point.
09:42:36 You know I I I was asked to to join the wasack training as a veteran commissioner, and I makes me feel so old I'm a veteran commissioner.
09:42:48 But anyway, so let's see, we have, after after our meeting today.
09:42:58 Unfortunately, I have another meeting cause it's 3Â h later here as well.
09:43:01 But I'm also preparing for the new Commissioner training next week.
09:43:08 Tomorrow largely out, although I'll I'll be at the Us.
09:43:13 Capital, and hope to at least run into some of our folks while up on capital Campus Wednesday I fly home.
09:43:23 I'll go to Budget Committee meeting and then fly home.
09:43:27 So I'm I'm a little nervous about the housing fund.
09:43:29 Board meeting, and and also have a some medical appointments that afternoon, getting back to Seattle for so it's I.
09:43:38 I I'm a little bit worried about both housing fun board and the workshop on Wednesday afternoon.
09:43:43 I'm sorry to say, but those appointments just have to take priority right now.
09:43:48 Thursday. I have a Economic Development Council Board meeting, and then a north Olympic Development Council meeting in the afternoon I'm on the fence about going to an Admiral
reception over on would be Island.
09:44:04 I'll see see how, that if I can manage to swing that, and then, like I said out Friday at a 3 day, fellowship, so that's my way
09:44:16 I saw that admiral's reception come come across the wires, and I thought maybe we could ask Mark to go if you couldn't make it.
09:44:23 I wasn't sure what your schedule was. He's covers
09:44:27 One. It's more than one of us can go to.
09:44:43 Okay.
09:44:31 It's I don't think we have to, you know, as long as we're not discussing county business there, and as it goes in my experience with the military it tends to be very one way
information and this is really a holiday, social so I don't think there's any
09:44:45 concern about numerous folks going. I think you have to ask if you want to invite someone that's not on the list just that they're the invitations are linked to the email address.
09:44:55 I believe, but that I don't think that would be a problem if there's interest
09:44:58 Yeah. Okay.
09:45:02 Well, safe travels and all that traveling you're doing.
09:45:07 I'm not going anywhere other than between here and had Buck this this week.
09:45:14 Let's see. So my week doing some work in preparation for our works, or Wednesday afternoon evening workshop tomorrow, and including a meeting with Dnr.
09:45:29 With Mallory and Katherine Copas, and Brian, and drew from Dnr.
09:45:34 Just to go over the agenda for the workshop.
09:45:39 Pre-election, certification duties middle of the day tomorrow, with Quinn, and I'm assuming Phil Hunsucker upstairs, and then in the afternoon tomorrow we are conducting our
interviews of our street strategic planning consultant candidates and then
09:46:01 Wednesday morning we had the Budget Committee meeting, and we'll be working on getting ready for the Carbon conference and or the yeah, the Carbon Conference, which is next
week not our forestry workshop but i've been asked.
09:46:18 To participate in Washington Environmental Councils Carbon Conference that they do. And so I'm gonna get rid of that
09:46:30 If I did I would drive my electric anyway, and then Wednesday.
09:46:36 Yeah. Afternoon. Starting at 4 30. The forestry workshop at the Jefferson County Library, and you know that's been interesting getting ready for that.
09:46:47 Mallory is really digging in on some of the, as I mentioned earlier, the the carbon project announcement of the phase 2 parcels kind of reframed the considerations of what we
were going to look at in preparation for this workshop and mallory's really been digging
09:47:07 In on. You know what someone alternatives to carbon are for some of the parcels and and some of the parcels that she's long been kind of.
09:47:15 Looking at for comb management of because that's the last letter we we assent to Dnr officially sent to Dnr.
09:47:23 Was talking about some collaborative management with Dnr, and talking about different age.
09:47:32 Rotations in terms of variable. Thin, variable cut, thinning, and pre-commercial, thinning, and doing some different kinds of forestry, and then also a few of the parcels are
kind of thought it after for recreational opportunities one of them is just south of Anderson
09:47:53 Lake State Park, and is a potential for extension of the Olympic discovery trail to the south of the Park, so we may want to you know talk about, multiple uses on some of these
Parcels so these are some of the things we've been talking about in our meetings but I
09:48:09 Would say, as I go out and look at some of the parcels.
09:48:13 A lot of them are already really kind of beloved recreational areas for the neighboring residential communities.
09:48:19 The the parcels that are farther north and the carbon parcel map in district 2 around Cape George and Anderson Lake there, already really kind of beloved passive recreation
areas so that's something that we need to consider and there's.
09:48:38 Been also folks reaching out, asking us to ask Dnr.
09:48:42 To trade, parcels. Yeah, swap out one of the carbon parcels for potentially another Dnr.
09:48:50 Parcel, or to that, you know they're already really loved to do their equestrian.
09:48:56 Yeah the horse horseback riding on. And so you know lot of different conversations going on right now, and it's it's a little bit of a a bowl of noodles to try and make sense
of it.
09:49:10 But we're we're. I think we're.
09:49:13 I mean, I feel like Mallory is really focused on it.
09:49:15 And Catherine Phillips, grateful for her and Denise.
09:49:18 Prayer has been helping with a lot of the carbon questions, and Peter Bales has been working a lot with Dnr on. You know.
09:49:25 Of course, on Dave Bay, and the expansion of the Dave Bob Bay natural area.
09:49:29 And so there's just a lot of moving pieces and a lot of community priorities mixed up in this conversation.
09:49:37 And so it's gonna be a a good good one.
09:49:40 Good conversation on Wednesday, so let's see. Then, Thursday meeting with Brent and Josh.
09:49:52 From Dcd. Just to talk to them. I've been getting a lot of phone calls about the Site Development Review and legal a lot of record, and how long things are taking it Dcd: So
I'm just wanting to dig into that a little bit with our leaders over there.
09:50:05 And find out how things are going and kind of what's what's on the front burner and what's on the back burner?
09:50:11 And then having a meeting with the Land Trust about those 3 Trust land, transfer lease parcels that we've been working on since long before my time is a commissioner with the
Land trust we did get the appraisals back from Dnr late last week and 2 of them were
09:50:31 Not surprising the quemper Wildlife corridor the 2 East and west parcels those amounts the the residual value.
09:50:41 After the the least term was not surprising. It was a pretty low number, but the Thorn dike parcel.
09:50:49 The number was really large. So we're having a conversation on Thursday to kinda try and understand what the next steps are with those 3 parcels, Mark and I will do agenda prep
for next week.
09:51:04 Then I have the Jefferson County cohort of the Olympic Discovery Trail meeting Thursday evening, Friday morning.
09:51:13 There's a carbon project hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee, which I hope I can attend virtually because I absolutely have to be here Friday afternoon for the one tenth
of 1% behavioral health funding vendor interviews so if I have to be in person in
09:51:34 Olympia. I probably will not be attending that that hearing.
09:51:38 But anyway, I, by priority, and Friday is that behavioral health work.
09:51:45 And then Saturday is Richard Voiced Memorial at the Quimper Unitarian Church at 2 in the afternoon and I'll be attending that and I'm super grateful for our facilities team
and all of us figuring out how we could lower the lower
09:52:03 The flag for Richard. It it was touching not only to his members of his family who joined us for the reading of that proclamation, but also to a number of the staff in the courthouse
came up to me and thank me personally because they were also students of Mr.
09:52:18 VoIP, at Chicago back in the day.
09:52:22 So, and also, you know, admired his work as a commissioner here.
09:52:26 So still having warm, fuzzy about Mr. Voite around the courthouse.
09:52:32 And so that's that's my this week. Any questions for each other, you know.
09:52:40 Looking a little farther ahead. I had responded to a note.
09:52:44 We all got, I think, from Arlene at the chamber, asking if someone could give a state of the county on on January the twentieth, at their chamber, cafe, and I said yes, someone
can so and I think mark and I recent news on that the city of
09:52:59 port Townsend was scheduled on February third, and Mayor Favor and John Morrow are not available on that date.
09:53:05 Oh, so we have swapped with the city. Okay, so the city will do January the twentieth and the county will do.
09:53:12 February third, perfect. Okay. And I think Mark and I are happy to do it
09:53:18 Yeah, sure. Yeah, that sounds great. Okay, any other logistics we need to coordinate on
09:53:28 Other than re restating that we will be not having a meeting on December 27.
09:53:34 We'll be taking a little bit of a holiday.
09:53:38 Okay. It's so funny, too. It's like summer to Twenty-sixth is a holiday, and it's some, you know it's like all the Hollywood.
09:53:46 There's quite a few holidays over those 2 weeks.
09:53:49 Official holidays, and we just looked at him, and it was a little bit of a cluster trying to figure out. How we would even pull a meeting off? So we are not gonna have a meeting
on the 20 seventh and I'm going to Canada just just for a couple of days yeah, a
09:54:06 Hmm good, and there will be some swearing in to do but to do.
09:54:17 We have any responsibility there
09:54:20 Hey? I'm foggy on
09:54:20 Well, we have to. We have to have to re-swear it, Greg
09:54:24 Right. Yeah. So I just curious if we need to be planning for a special meeting for it for that
09:54:32 Well, when I when I joined you guys, I was sworn in without you being here.
09:54:38 And then the the following meeting. We did a formal, you know.
09:54:42 Little ceremony, Greg played as a accordion for me.
09:54:46 If you'll remember
09:54:51 So we could swear in at the Bocc meeting. Okay?
09:54:54 Isn't that a holiday
09:54:56 And oh, hmm!
09:54:57 Yeah, third, this would be the third
09:55:01 Yeah. The third. Yeah. Thank you. Kate.
09:55:10 Right
09:55:04 I just don't know if we if we took typically try not to have there be a a lapse and time the first of the year.
09:55:13 We might also have a I mean, if we're lucky we will have another.
09:55:18 The governor will pick a replacement for our Superior Court.
09:55:28 Yeah. Yeah.
09:55:21 Judge. So just just that we might need to. We're we're always prepared at the end of the year to have to pull together a special meeting for stuff like this, and but we can
do it hybrid now so
09:55:32 Yeah, I think, Judge Harper's always done like last time I did it with all the all the electeds.
09:55:39 In one event in charge of January. So right, so we have time, and we as December
09:55:42 Okay.
09:55:47 Meetings, or in right? Yeah, yeah, and then, of course, we have to install the chair for next year.
09:55:54 Oh, yeah.
09:55:56 Can do that on the third right
09:56:00 Yup. And Committee assignments, and hold that housekeeping that occurs early in the year.
09:56:06 Indeed
09:56:07 Yes.
09:56:09 Think about what you want to fight for people. Oh, oh, okay.
09:56:18 Hmm.
09:56:21 Okay. Well, looking at our agenda. The next thing on our agenda is at 1030.
09:56:28 Is there anything non calendar related that we need to check in with each other on?
09:56:34 Yes, oh yes! Carolyn's says yes, right. I don't.
09:56:45 I don't have the paper so I I can't
09:57:00 Trying to remember what? Oh, yes, Commissioners, there's there's some debt payments that need to be made, and our treasurer, Stacy Praeta, who who was out ill, has requested
that the board sign those vouchers at today they weren't listed
09:57:23 on the agenda, however, revenues associated with these payments won't be received until the end of the week, and the payments are due, and so and she is asking that the board
approve warrants in the amount of $258,725, and 32
09:57:44 cents, there are 4 separate payments that comprise that total, so for the benefit of the public.
09:57:52 Can you just say in general what the the topic area is?
09:57:57 It's it's for payment of 2,016 general obligation bonds, principal and interest.
09:58:05 Okay, I'll move that we approve payment of these ones.
09:58:12 I'll second that all in favor. Oh, any public comment, any public comment on these $260,000 worth of warrants that have been added to the agenda for today regarding payment
of past general general obligation bonds
09:58:32 Mark? Can you speak to what the the general obligation bond is, because the treasurer manages debt for a number of junior texting districts across the county and that is not
the the counties.
09:58:44 I'm quite sure we did not take on a bond in 2,016
09:58:45 Yeah, it. Yeah, the revenue that we have yet to receive is the communications, sales tax.
09:58:53 So I believe these payments are on behalf of Jeff.
09:58:55 Yeah. Okay. Thank you.
09:58:56 Con. Okay. Thank you. That's
09:59:02 Hi!
09:59:00 All in favor. Hi, bye, okay, anything else.
09:59:10 Does everyone want a little recess
09:59:14 Get another cup of coffee. Sure. Okay, so we will recess.
09:59:20 Let's recess until 1025 so we're all back here and ready to be joined by our Dnr colleagues, or and just letting folks know that this will be longer quarterly update the next
few quarterly updates have time added to them to give us
10:26:34 Welcome back, everyone. We are just coming back in a little early in case our colleagues from Dnr show up, and we can let them in so there's no business until 1030 but we're
just I was like to be early.
10:26:48 Everywhere. And so here we are early
10:27:13 Hmm! No, I think he's probably just here to listen.
10:27:17 So this is just our quarterly report.
10:27:27 Oh, you're cute my hair. Yeah. Oh, yeah, it's got a little holiday.
10:27:38 Look at that. It's not there last.
10:27:42 Looks, whatever
10:27:47 There we go!
10:27:50 Back with us. Yeah, she's there. She's just not camera it up yet.
10:28:01 Yeah, I'm here. I'm trying to find a light to turn on.
10:28:04 It does look really dark where you are
10:28:06 Yeah, it's 1 30, but it is a little dark in the room that I'm in
10:28:21 What did what did Ben make for Thanksgiving
10:28:25 He did a a real traditional yeah like Turkey and all all the fixings impressive.
10:28:35 He did buy a pre made turkey that we reheated.
10:28:39 Hmm.
10:28:40 You didn't quite do all that, but it was very sweet
10:28:43 Yeah, that's awesome.
10:28:47 Nice
10:28:45 Hmm. At 18 years old. Not bad. Yeah.
10:28:56 And there's Mona
10:29:49 Hello, Mona! Hello! June!
10:29:52 Hello! How are you?
10:29:54 Doing well, how are you guys
10:29:56 That's good doing well.
10:30:06 Bye, have a funny little calc going on my head, so I'm festing with it.
10:30:11 There, fix it
10:30:14 Is anyone else joining you from Dnr today?
10:30:17 Through and Mona.
10:30:18 Yeah, David: hearn
10:30:21 Okay. Great.
10:30:27 What's his title? Drew
10:30:30 Yeah.
10:30:32 What? What's his? What's his title? David
10:30:35 He's the management forester
10:30:36 Okay, great Carolyn, taking the minutes. So she asks
10:30:42 Okay.
10:30:45 Well, this is we're glad you guys are with us and we know we have a longer period of time with you guys today.
10:30:51 So we're excited to see what you have to share. And we're glad you're here.
10:30:59 Yeah, we wanted to go into more detail. So we have a 4 part series planned.
10:31:06 And so it will take you in depth and through all of the steps that we go through when preparing 10 timber sales
10:31:14 Awesome.
10:31:18 So who's gonna kick it off from your end
10:31:15 I'll get started with our usual report, and then, when I'm done handed off to David
10:31:28 Sounds, great
10:31:30 So we ended third quarter at 679,000.
10:31:38 And Jupiter. Access moved a little bit of wood.
10:31:45 Third quarter they're moving the right away woods.
10:31:47 So we got a small payment on that one center. Thinning is active now.
10:31:52 So with that one as with the other center thinnings, we'll start.
10:32:00 We'll just see like twenty-thirty 1,000 a month.
10:32:03 Just start trickling in for probably the next year and a half 2 years.
10:32:09 So that it's slow but steady, Taylor downhill was the big one.
10:32:16 They made an early payment on that one which was really helpful, and it's actually closed out now, and it hasn't gone into audit yet, I expect that one to go through audit here
and in a month or so and then the final payment will come through on that one probably
10:32:38 Shortly after the first of the year, fourth quarter since we're a little bit late, I just put in what we've already got.
10:32:49 Wired for fourth quarter, and so another another payment came in on center 12, and then Bolton Rehab finished up.
10:33:02 So we got a good size payment on that one so so far in fourth quarter.
10:33:07 I've got 387,000, which is about all.
10:33:10 I expect for the for the fourth quarter. We still got a month to go, but Bolton is closing out.
10:33:18 It's finished, but it hasn't gone into final paperwork. Hasn't got in.
10:33:22 It hasn't gone into audits. So the the final 10% payment on that one will come in right after the first of the year.
10:33:31 Another 41,000 coming in on that one, so
10:33:36 So right now we're at about 1.1 1,374,000, which is just about what I that's kind of where I expect to be for the year
10:33:47 And so on my list. We got Penny Alderwood and City Skitter, which are closed out.
10:33:54 Those are done we got payments first quarter on those Jupiter closes out next next fall and October of 23.
10:34:05 So we'll get get the final payments on that this year.
10:34:11 Taylor and Bolton are done so we'll get the the final 10% on those probably first quarter and then that leaves Beaver Valley and Penny so and I know I heard last week.
10:34:28 That they were starting to road, build on penny, so I don't and I don't know whether that the weather's gonna condition, whether or not that keeps moving and road building or
not but I don't.
10:34:41 I I'm thinking they probably won't start harvest till sometimes this summer.
10:34:48 Leaving us at the end of moving into 23.
10:34:53 We've got about. See you got 5.3 million under contract, and of that Jupiter will pay off.
10:35:03 That's showing all the money left on center. 21.
10:35:07 So you can expect maybe half that amount, and then final payment on Taylor and Bolton, and then maybe 50% on Fever Valley and Penny Wise so Mike, I'll have a better a better
run for you next time we meet for 23 but i'm thinking 2 2 and a
10:35:36 Half 1 million would be conservative, and then the balance of that coming in and 24.
10:35:43 So anywhere, between 2 and 3 million for those 2 years. And I'll I'll drill into that deeper when I come in.
10:35:53 So next meeting will be our final which for that for calendar, 22, and and I don't think it's gonna change very much, and then I will have more detail on what I think is coming
in 23
10:36:09 Hey? Great, great! Thank you.
10:36:14 Market, wise. We're still doing real well. We're we're seeing competition, good competition under sales.
10:36:22 Some of the companies have been hungry and starting to compete.
10:36:26 So we're getting good prices, our prices are pretty well held steady.
10:36:30 We're not seeing a decline yet. So hoping for the future.
10:36:37 Hope it keeps moving, but so far so good we're doing well
10:36:44 Great. I think questions about yours. Your part, Kate or Greg.
10:36:51 You know I I feel like I've asked you this before.
10:36:54 But center 21 is just all over the place. How did that end up being one sale?
10:36:58 Can you? I don't know. Can you unpack that formula a little bit
10:37:01 Yeah. So we just don't have a whole lot of units typically that are ready.
10:37:08 Coach is the opposite. They've got lots of that 20 to 30 year old.
10:37:13 Lots of options, streets doesn't have that.
10:37:18 So what we'll do is usually the the center, unit forest or Mark Banner will go out, and every 2 years or so, and just start, he'll just gather all the units up that are ready
for thinning and then just put them into one big sale and I think his next one
10:37:39 Is center. He did every one of his name center, no matter where it it falls in the district, but I think the next one will be center 27 and so he's just basically saying, okay,
I got 15 units that adds up to about 1,500 acres that are ready to go right?
10:37:58 Now so I'm just gonna throw all those in, and they it end up with a lot of units that are are scattered all over the place, and it's it's kind of a pain, but it's the it's the
most economical and easiest way for us, to put it together.
10:38:14 And get it out there. But it's just a matter of of the choices that are there, and what we can move ahead with
10:38:21 Great. I I appreciate that often wonder that
10:38:22 And it from a at least for Jefferson County, from a tax district standpoint.
10:38:28 It's like I I dread these things because there's usually 5 or 6 different tax districts that it feeds to, and and this time he also got units in cloud, and luckily they were
all in one tax district but it's a pain.
10:38:42 It really mixes up the trust, and it makes us up the tax districts.
10:38:47 But it's it's the most economical way for us to do it.
10:38:51 It's the only way we can make sense of it and make it happen so
10:38:55 Great. Thank you.
10:38:56 Yup!
10:38:59 Any other questions I have. I guess I'd wait until after they're kind of deeper dive just to make sure I'm not asking questions.
10:39:05 They're already going to talk about. Okay, great Kate, do you have any questions for these guys Nope: okay.
10:39:15 Okay. Do
10:39:17 Hmm! There's no more than I'll turn it over to Dave that go into his presentation, though
10:39:25 Thank you.
10:39:27 Alright! Good morning.
10:39:27 Alright on mute
10:39:33 You guys together
10:39:35 Yeah. Yeah.
10:39:43 There you go!
10:39:46 Yup!
10:39:45 Okay. Perfect. Okay. Alright. Now I'm gonna share my screen.
10:39:53 So, if you have questions, feel free to interrupt me, I won't be able to see the chat or anything while I'm sharing my screen.
10:40:01 I'll
10:40:17 Yeah, I can see it great.
10:40:15 Can you guys see my screen? Okay, perfect okay, we'll get started.
10:40:21 So as Mona alluded to. This is part one of 4 presentations that we'll be giving over the next 4 meetings.
10:40:31 Just go over the different parts. What these presentations we'll be regarding our timber cell program so part one today we'll be talking about our timber cell planning.
10:40:44 And how do we come up with a state lands, timber, sale, and sort of what directions that we are working under, and sort of our targets and deliverables, and how those are set?
10:40:56 Our next presentation part 2 will be regarding the field work for those these timber sales that lead up to part 3, which would be our office work and field work and environmental
reviews.
10:41:11 Of these timber sales, and then finally part 4 will be the auction of the timber sales and the the timber cell compliance that follows post auction.
10:41:23 So you know we sort of look at timber sales.
10:41:25 As for sort of 4 different buckets, and step some that we work through, and we're gonna take the time to present on all 4 of those
10:41:37 So the first step for us is, we need sort of sideboards and guidelines on on what we are sort of our targets, and our yearly targets are for volume and where that is set is
what I believe probably most of us heard is a stable harvest
10:42:00 calculation. And so what is the sustainable harvest calculation?
10:42:04 It is a sustainable volume of timber to be offered for a cell over a 10 year period, which is actually approved by the Board of natural Resources.
10:42:15 And this is driven into Rcw's there's a revised code of Washington that directs the Dnr to set and recalculate these levels every 10 years.
10:42:27 So currently we are operating in the 2,015 to 2,002 planning decade, and we are beginning the process of working on our next decade.
10:42:39 The 2,025 to 2,034 decade there's a few Rcw.
10:42:44 S that are tied to the Dnr. In the Us.
10:42:48 S setting these sustainable levels. Another one that's pretty common. That we'll hear about is there right rear edge, which is any left over volume from the decade will be added
to the calculate sustainable harvest level for that next decade
10:43:10 So, what guides the sustainable harvest?
10:43:13 So we have Rcw. Set that directs us to set these levels and targets a volume.
10:43:20 So how they come up with this is a is models, and these models are driven through policy and procedures.
10:43:27 So our policies are. There's 2 main policies that really drive, the sample harvest calculation.
10:43:35 Those are the policy as a sustainable forestry in our Hcps, or our habitat conservation plans.
10:43:41 So there's I'll get into those a little bit more in the next couple of slides, and then on top of our policies.
10:43:48 We do have procedures that we follow on a department level, and that these could be through procedures or guidelines, or any kind of tasks related to force management and these
are more common ones are riparian and wetland zones, any kind of potentially unstable
10:44:09 Slopes. Nor inspired owl and Margaret Roles.
10:44:14 All these different procedures that we have to put into place when we do force management activities, and these are not just on State lands.
10:44:20 But you know the same procedures are some of these same procedures.
10:44:23 Are used through forest practices that would be you'll see on some private lands as well, too.
10:44:30 So policies are the big level stuff, and then procedures are more on the ground, and how we go about doing forest management on state timberlands
10:44:42 Okay.
10:44:40 Can I ask a granular question there, David? I guess. Kind of 2.
10:44:47 One I is the sustainable harvest calculation done on a statewide trust, wide, level, and I don't know if you can go into how, if that breaks up into different regions and then
considering also about the distinction between forest practice private forest practice applications and and
10:45:06 Dnr work do the policies only influence Dnr sustainable harvest calculation, or does it also do those policies touch the procedures that private forest practices must go through
10:45:21 Yeah, so the the the policies are the Dnr.
10:45:28 And the things that we've worked with to create it with our well, for example, the Acp.
10:45:34 We work with the the Federal wildlife services, wfw to come up with a permit, and I'll get that in a little bit on allowing us to move forward and take an account the impacts
to threatened or endangered species or Samanoids within the W you know Washington
10:45:59 State, so these policies are Dnr policies that have been put in place for us to.
10:46:06 So you know, be able to manage our lands and manage the lands with.
10:46:12 Take an account isn isn't in regards to the Acp.
10:46:17 Threat and endangered species in the impacts that we have on those through our management activities
10:46:22 So the question regarding stable, harvest calculation.
10:46:28 Yeah, we do break these down into 20 on the west side.
10:46:32 So west side the cascade is 20 different sustainable harvest units, and here, in Olympic region we have the counties, in Olympic region.
10:46:42 We have calm County Grace Harbor County, just the north part of Grace's Harbor County, on the down by Aberdeen Ocean shores that that area and then also Jefferson county in
addition to the County Steam harvest units we have the
10:47:02 Olympic experimental state force as well the O Esf.
10:47:04 Which is out on the west side of Oly Olympic region, which is West Jefferson County and Western Clom County, and with each of these units a harvest level is set so it takes
an account within that that that unit of what operable lander
10:47:28 is, and what is sustainable level of harvest, for each of these units.
10:47:32 So we do have set target levels for each county, and then we have an additional target level for the Oesf
10:47:41 Great. Thank you.
10:47:42 Yep.
10:47:43 So, David. The policy for sustainable forests includes a number of policies right?
10:47:52 And how often is that set of policies updated, I mean, I think I have the current version, and I'm not sure if it was published and Brian boils days or I mean it feels like
it's a it's been on the books for a while
10:48:08 No. Okay.
10:48:13 92, may.
10:48:07 Yeah, I believe I believe the initial one was 90, but 92, and but it gets I mean there's there's updates, and but I those has to be driven I believe, at a higher level than
just the dnr I believe there's legislation
10:48:30 Involved with it, and it's a it's a larger poll.
10:48:34 It's a larger process because it is policy where the procedures are more on the the operational level that you know.
10:48:43 Get our little bit more common where we see the updates, which is, you know, tied to how we manage our riparian zones wetland management, or even our unstable slopes, and those
are done I would say we we see impacts to those fairly common I I
10:49:02 Don't want say yearly, but you know it's we.
10:49:06 We do get updated procedures fairly common in the Dnr
10:49:10 Yeah, it just came up for me because a number of folks are asking me questions about the old dole growth.
10:49:20 Forrest policy. You know. What will that will that change? I think it says 1855 right now, or I don't know.
10:49:27 I don't remember exactly what it says, but it's 150 years or so. Anyway.
10:49:31 Yeah. Free. 1850. Yeah.
10:49:31 Yeah, people. Yeah, saying that there's concerns you know what?
10:49:36 If when, when when might that change? But I looked at the document that the policy resides with them, and it's been on the longstanding.
10:49:44 So I I don't nowhere that concern comes from.
10:49:49 But that's why I wanted to ask that question.
10:49:54 Thank you.
10:49:55 Yup, so the other the other large policy that we deal with is the habitat conservation plan which is adopted in 1,997 it covers.
10:50:06 1.8 million acres Dnr: trust lands.
10:50:08 And this was HP. You know, if you were to speak with the fish and wildlife services, you know it's really a champion plan, not just for you know the state of Washington, but
for them, in general with working with State agencies is really the first of its kind in you know in
10:50:33 With within State, working with the Federal wildlife, services, and what it does is provides the Dnr.
10:50:41 To continue their State management, plan and it what it does is mitigates for federally listed species, including samenoid species.
10:50:55 Within you know, within our our State lands in Western Washington and across the the State in general.
10:51:06 So within the acp we have specific conservation strategies most recent.
10:51:13 We've implemented the marvel at long term conservation strategy that went into effect just a couple of years ago in the past we've had conservation strategy for the Northern
spot Owl we have it for salmon and steelhead and those
10:51:32 are the the the biggest impacts that we see here in our region are related to that, and these are these: these 2 large policies.
10:51:44 What are sort of what drives and allows us to continue our land.
10:51:47 Management and State lands, and then, like I said, we get into our procedures.
10:51:55 So if you look at the the Dnr. Or the Olympic region as a whole, we have, you know, all these acreage right?
10:52:01 And then due to our policies and our management plans.
10:52:06 Whether like in related marble merits. If we have occupied zones, we have the special habitat areas within these strategies.
10:52:18 We have certain areas that are protected for these species, and so that takes land out of our man.
10:52:26 Active management, base, and then, after our policies are in place.
10:52:30 Now we gotta look at on a smaller level. Okay. Now, how do we go?
10:52:36 Look at these force management units. What are other procedures that we have to follow?
10:52:42 And we're, and now we got to start finding our operable land, and then so each each area you know we look at a timber cell.
10:52:52 It might be a 100 acres that we can go.
10:52:55 Look at. That's doesn't fall within any calling a policy.
10:52:58 But then we're also gonna remove acres out of that 100 acres for protections for unstable slopes.
10:53:06 Any kind of riperian zones. If it's a type, 2 stream or type, 3, type, 4 type, 5, there's different management procedures in place for dealing with those streams any kind.
10:53:17 Of watershed analysis, and then obviously we have operational constraints as well.
10:53:26 So the policy, you know are the larger level set in place, and then we have these procedures that are more small, that really pertain to each sort of area generalized.
10:53:39 Area, then that will guide us sort of or help us create a model that we can sort of operate under and give us sort of an idea of what is actually out there for harvest over
the next 10 years, and that's where our volumes get set
10:53:58 And I ask a question. Maybe this is for Drew, regarding the parcels that were identified for the carbon project.
10:54:08 Were all of these constraints considered when defining which acres would be eligible for inclusion in the carbon project
10:54:19 Yeah, to a point. It is, yeah, I didn't use all of that.
10:54:19 Yeah, cool. I didn't use all of them.
10:54:28 But I they they have a whole separate list of constraints.
10:54:30 It was
10:54:26 But I so they they had a whole separate list of constraints, but those were part of it
10:54:32 Okay. I okay. Thanks.
10:54:34 Yup!
10:54:35 Yup!
10:54:45 Alright, so once our target levels are set for the decade, you know.
10:54:51 Then they get break broken down by year, so we get certain a target per year volume that's broken down to us by unit sustainable harvest unit.
10:55:03 So for Jack. We have a Jefferson County target. We have a clown county target.
10:55:08 Grace Harvard target, and then our O Esf.
10:55:13 Volume as well we can break that down by a per year basis of where we need to be at that way at year, one we're operating under the Assumption by year 10 that we're gonna meet
our delivered target level which is set for that decade so that sets us off with
10:55:32 The ability to go, set an action plan, and with a with a target level to meet the foresters, mostly at our district manager in our unit Forster, a level which our unit foresters
are our supervisors.
10:55:49 There are experience, force or staff that oversee our the rest of our field staff.
10:55:56 You know they got a great knowledge. Local knowledge of our land, base and they'll use our forestry handbooks, our Gis tools, inventory specifically, Lidar, and just general
local knowledge of working landscape you know with you know our Dms.
10:56:16 Have been around working these lands for a long time, and Rfs tend to be our most experience for us to remember. So they have an idea of where to look for offerable land and
and our target units
10:56:35 So we build this. We'd like to. We'll try to have a 5 year action plan put in place with our that help meet us meet our yearly annual target. Levels.
10:56:49 So once a timber, cell sort of identified, we place them into a fiscal year, and you know our fiscal year goes from June, June, July, and before we even place them into a month
for auction usually 2 years sometimes a little bit earlier, we we need as a
10:57:16 Region staff, so these timber sales are conceptual. They they're they've been identified through, you know our field knowledge through Gis.
10:57:28 And you know this timber sales sort of created with an idea of it's gonna be 300 acres, you know the start which you know we always anticipate, that, dropping the about 150
to you know about 50% of our of what we are initially looking at due
10:57:47 To our procedures, which are unstable slopes or right periods.
10:57:51 Management areas we're gonna go look at these it making a good timber sale, and you know, what what do we do from here?
10:58:02 Well, what we do is send it out to all of our timber sal specialists, and these are region staff.
10:58:08 We have a region biologist. We have license region geologists.
10:58:13 We have a forers trained in cultural resource.
10:58:18 We have a license land surveyor, region and district engineers right?
10:58:23 So way staff, and then our region management staff. So 2 years before we even put boots on the ground, we send these timber sales out for review, and we do this once a year.
10:58:35 So coming up this spring will actually be looking at fiscal year, 25 timber sales, and we do what we call remote reviews where we use all all the database that we have in place
to take a look at these tumor cells and try to get idea if
10:58:52 there's any issues related to the biology. What kind of a geology are we seeing there?
10:58:59 We use Lidar and our our geologists are being able to get a good understanding whether we're going to be dealing with groundwater reach areas or potential class 4 specials which
are you know just timer.
10:59:12 Sales, with a little bit more need or specialist needs for geology.
10:59:19 Is there any kind of culture? Resource issues? Is there Glo trail that has been mapped or marked on there and then related to engineering?
10:59:29 What kind of roads are we gonna need to rebuild roads, or we need to order bridges?
10:59:34 Are we gonna need to send our land, survey crew out and survey the lines.
10:59:39 Dnr. In particular we have rules in place that you need boundary needs to be looked at by license surveyor.
10:59:51 And then do we have access issues? Are we going to require in particular our biggest issue that we've dealt with?
10:59:59 Is, do? Are we going to need to require access permits across the you know the for service, do we need to get a hold of private landowners and work with them on getting rights
way permits to access across their their ownership to our our State land blocks so you know we we a lot of work
11:00:16 Goes into these 2 or sales before we even put boots boots on the ground and get out there and look at them just to make sure that. We have a viable sale and that we are missing
something from our you know from our initial scope of these timber sales
11:00:32 David, can I ask Howard tribes engaged in this planning effort
11:00:38 Yeah, the through our cultural resources. You know, when we start looking at our culture resource layers or special concerns later.
11:00:50 If there are things that we've noticed noticing right off the bat.
11:00:54 That's when we start engaging through our archaeologists and setting on on site meetings.
11:01:01 So out here on coast or or straits district, you know, big one, that we know is, if there's any triang cultural or modified trees and we sort of generally know the idea of just
of local knowledge of where those might be located so that's something we look for pretty earlier
11:01:20 On in the process, and you know we we invite them out, for you know, on in field meetings to talk about how we're gonna manage some of those resources. Okay?
11:01:34 Oh, yeah, yeah. In in in addition to cultural resources, when we have any kind of tfw related with timber, fish and wildlife, which is, the you know, where it comes up in timber
sales is related to fish passage or stream typing we always have our
11:01:56 tribe tribal biologists involved as long along with wfw and force practice foresters.
11:02:07 And Alison.
11:02:05 When we have those meetings as well. So they're engaged on a couple of different levels of timber sales
11:02:10 Great, and I also know from my first job out of college working in Dnr.
11:02:16 I worked in the heritage program and we would get I would I did.
11:02:19 The Fpa Review, so I know that that's another consultation that you guys do around when there's a element occurrence of a rare plant or plant community that is in the vicinity
of it proposed forest practices application that that heritage is consulted so
11:02:36 I'm sure that's still going on
11:02:36 Yes, yep!
11:02:44 Alright. I just provided some maps here. I I actually forgot to have these on, but these are what we get sort of submitted to us ahead of time.
11:02:54 So water's edge is actually a timber sale.
11:02:57 I think we currently had a scheduled for fiscal year, 25.
11:03:02 It's out here in the coast district. You can see that, you know we our forces are made a mapping exercise through using Ortho photos.
11:03:13 Local knowledge. He he probably use age class, and then Gis to come up with a timber cell proposal.
11:03:23 We would send these maps and information to our our specialists.
11:03:28 So our biologists, geologists, everyone that we just talked about, and then they would do using the tools and resources that they have available to them.
11:03:36 They would do our initial scoping and review of these timer cells to see if there's any bigger picture issues that we need to talk about before we actually go out on site and
start doing field work in this case that you know there was you know i'm sure our geologists had a nice little write
11:03:52 Up regarding some of the the slopes and the units to the west, and you know there's obviously a potential for some arm.
11:04:02 Z. Wetland management areas down there in the the river bottoms.
11:04:05 I know, our rights waste staff here probably would have no issues, because it was out on our block, but we'd be looking to make sure that we have legal access to each of these
units.
11:04:15 Our engineers will be looking for any kind of new bridge crossings that might be required, or new roads that might need to be constructed.
11:04:25 And yeah. So we get all anybody that can offer anything to us.
11:04:30 We make sure that they get a good review, and before we put these sales into a schedule and begin working on them down the road
11:04:41 Yes.
11:04:39 Last one quick question about that, David. That's I. I don't know when we're out on the traveling around with with Drew and Brian and such we looked at I forgot what that Bridge
was now Drew.
11:04:50 But Bridge isn't the larger infrastructure projects.
11:04:54 My question is, are figured out before the sale, and they are removed from the projection of the sale total right?
11:05:03 They're not from the 25% admin of of Dnr.
11:05:08 But they're on before anyone gets paid. Is that correct?
11:05:11 Yeah. And it depends on the the project. So we have a a tumor sale, for example, that's going up for auction in 2 months, you know our engineering.
11:05:28 Oh!
11:05:32 Interesting.
11:05:24 Team is actually securing the bridge ahead of time through their own capital funding, so the timber sales actually not paying for that bridge, but the timber cell pays for the
work or the contractor for installing the bridge so there's just it just depends on that timber sale and
11:05:42 The type of work that we're doing if the if the bridge is needed for that timber sale in order to extract that volume, the timber cell really tends to pay for that or if it's
a it's a larger part that's gonna benefit you know more than just one
11:05:57 timer, sale, or if it benefits a trust, so it's sort of a case by case situation.
11:06:03 There, and most of that money's paid through through our our our program that we charge through every timer silver.
11:06:09 If you looked at you know our notices that the purchasers required to pay through our removals of the sale you know that's our access.
11:06:18 Well, I think they change the name of it. But it's a it's a basically our access fund that helps maintain our roads and our our regionally. Our public works staff for our our
road systems out in Olympic region
11:06:36 Great. Thank you.
11:06:37 Yeah. But yeah. Roadwork, real construction pre Hall.
11:06:43 Maintenance post hall maintenance. All that comes out of our initial timber so price or appraisal process. It's a it's a bitable, item I guess, on our on
11:06:55 Gotcha.
11:07:02 Alright. Yeah. So after our specialist reviews, we look at, you know, one of my main jobs here is to help create a schedule.
11:07:13 We look at all of our workloads based off of our our specialist reviews for us, like our our biggest constraints, are surveys.
11:07:22 Our geology times, and then our cultural resources. The survey work is just, you know, a lot.
11:07:29 If these lines haven't been surveyed before and sort of in the country that we work in, you know one project can take
11:07:40 2 or 3 months to complete, we need to get our survey crew out
11:07:50 Oh!
11:07:53 David, and drew looks like the West
11:07:57 And east compounding. We also have another Geology, license geologist that works out in Western Jefferson County in Colomb County.
11:08:09 So we have 2 geologists within our region. We want to make sure that their workloads are balanced as well, so we're not having too many geology, heavy work, you know.
11:08:20 Timber sales going up in the same month. These are just some things that we take an account when building our work schedule, and then finally, you know, 7 to 8 months before
our timber cell is scheduled to be auction we can actually begin some field work so even though we've been
11:08:36 working on these cells for probably about a year up to, you know this time they've done a really good scoping and review.
11:08:45 We can start laying out field work. We're our foresters go out and put boots on the ground, and they're consulting our specialists as they as they go about their their daily
duties.
11:08:56 On it on a timber cell.
11:09:01 And that sort of leads us into our next presentation, which will be that field work where our stack goes out and initially do a initial recon if there.
11:09:15 Was any notes with our specialists in our pre-harvest, what we call a pre-harvest review we'll make sure that we schedule field trips and visits without with them they'll start
working on tumor cell boundary marking we'll
11:09:29 talk about their lead Tree retreat, retention, plans, and how they come up with our lead trees, and then we'll talk about our our road plans and a little bit more.
11:09:40 About how you know we decide whether to put in a permanent crossing or temporary crossing, and what goes into our work, our road plans to make sure that we have access to our
our timer cell units
11:09:54 Great
11:09:58 Alright. You guys have any questions.
11:10:02 I have a question about the sustainable harvest calculation cause.
11:10:05 I know we're getting to the end of our current decade, and I've heard concerns from colleagues in the forest products, industry that the sustainable harvest calculation is gonna
go down significantly what kinds of
11:10:23 What kinds of programs or factors would cause the sustainable harvest calculation that we're currently operating under.
11:10:32 Go down for the next decade, is it? Well, is it things like the carbon project?
11:10:38 I mean, what are the? What are the things that will move the calculation down
11:10:44 Slow thinking about carbon could affect it. Another one is Lance going off base for things like plant community and anything well, natural areas.
11:11:07 We try and integrant out. But those are a couple of the big ones that come to mind
11:11:16 Okay. Great.
11:11:17 And initially looking at Jefferson, we pull up a spreadsheet
11:11:29 So. And this is based on last decades work the current decade.
11:11:35 You would drop about a 1 million feet a year just based on what they did at that time, and that the change can come about because of things like Coil peninsula.
11:11:46 I have a whole lot of plant community in it that used to be on base.
11:11:50 So there's you know there's there's like 15 million feet that we lost out there.
11:11:57 And so, and then if anything does go into carbon that's operable, so that would change it too.
11:12:02 But right now it's only looking like maybe a 1 million.
11:12:05 But that is a decade. Old number
11:12:08 So whether it's
11:12:13 So the plan community, whether it's proposed for protection in in, for example, a natural area boundary or not, it's still factored in the calculation
11:12:25 It. It would be right now. Yeah. Well, it would be last decade if it's if it's coming up this current decade, then it will be taken out
11:12:35 So that's a lot you just did. You just say 15 million for plan community and
11:12:40 That's just what I lost on coil
11:12:43 Okay. Well.
11:12:58 Me too
11:12:47 So, if it's already out of the calculation, see this is sustainable harvest, calculation feels like a big big black mystery box to me in a way yeah, okay, so if you last 15
million board.
11:13:07 Hmm.
11:13:03 Feet, due to plan community on the coil in the last sustainable harvest calculation.
11:13:10 It wouldn't necessarily be going down in the next sustainable harvest.
11:13:13 Calculation or the next decade, because that already went down in the last one
11:13:19 Yeah, I think that's a fair assumption.
11:13:29 Yeah.
11:13:22 Okay. I'm just trying to understand what? What? What? The what goalposts are moving regarding the harvest calculation in the future, because because I've been hearing it.
11:13:35 And if you've you know meetings and forms like Oh, it's gonna go down to they!
11:13:38 They gave you the statewide number. But you know what, hey?
11:13:43 Yes, I the statewide number will definitely go down. Well, yeah, kind of depends.
11:13:51 I mean I I'm doing my best to not have an a rearrange.
11:13:54 This decade, and the counties are my main target to keep whole, but due to staffing issues I'm still I I think I got up to 4 people, was my my down, and now I'm back to 6 I've
had a couple of more people.
11:14:11 Leave, and promote and so given, that I think I'm gonna be short on Rmca.
11:14:18 Volume or Federal lands, so that that'll be an unknown impact coming into in the next decade
11:14:28 And Drew, following up on that question. I mean right now.
11:14:31 It's proposed that almost you know a third, a quarter of the East Jefferson Dnr.
11:14:40 Forest, land is put into the carbon project, bring the sustainable harvest calculation down.
11:14:48 25%. Is that what you would anticipate if that number is
11:14:50 Yeah.
11:14:53 For for the State force, transfer, trust, right, not a common school construction, right
11:15:01 Yeah.
11:15:08 Okay.
11:15:04 So it wouldn't be the whole sustainable harvest calculation going down 25 because of those 3,000 3,900 acres.
11:15:14 It would, just because they're not all. Some of them are common school.
11:15:18 Well, some of the acres that are considered in the sustainable harvest calculation.
11:15:28 Yeah.
11:15:24 The majority of the acres are common schools. There's what 70% common school, Jefferson County, 30 28, you know, and then a couple of acres of university.
11:15:35 I mean there's little little little Trust Tiny Trust right?
11:15:38 Yeah.
11:15:38 So the majority of the acres in Jefferson County are common school Construction Trust, which are the school construction.
11:15:46 Yeah, and then so the Clearwater block affects that cause.
11:15:50 That's almost pure common school, so that that really swings it heavy to Rmca.
11:16:00 Thank you. I mean because because I ask these questions, and I get now that I've asked these questions. I'm going to get questions
11:16:09 But can can you explain a little bit more, though? Is that the a sustainable harvest set for common school also, or is common school excluded?
11:16:21 So each timber county is its own sustainable harvest unit.
11:16:26 So Jefferson is one column is one, and then Ohesf is unique, and that it's volume is set as a sustainable harvest unit.
11:16:38 But it contains so they'll we were. David and I were looking it up this morning.
11:16:45 Clowns target is 210 million for the decade.
11:16:48 Well, that's not completely true, because there's a component with in the oasf that is county land.
11:17:00 The clown on block. The saldock is all you know.
11:17:04 A large part of that is counting so. But that's that's treated within the oesf that, like, for instance, our lands in Grace Harbor, County, North Grace Harbor are all common
school and so those are part of the State white cut so for the most part Rmc.
11:17:23 A volume is a state wide cut. So if I'm coming in short, PC.
11:17:31 Cuts a little bit more specific. Cascade region cuts a little more.
11:17:35 We're balanced. It doesn't have to be balanced by region.
11:17:38 Oh, I see
11:17:39 So it it's but the counties are specific to the calendar.
11:17:43 That's its own unit. So it's a little little bit confusing because the counties are its own unit or Uss, which has a mix of Federal and county is its own unit, and then the
rest of it is a statewide unit
11:18:06 Right any other questions for these guys
11:18:11 We have you had more overarching question at the beginning to meet.
11:18:24 Okay.
11:18:23 Understand that better. I think it's been mostly addressed.
11:18:27 1 one issue that Heidi brought up earlier. That's interesting to me is, you know, the the definition of old growth, as you know, Pre.
11:18:34 1850, pre statehood, and that's going to it sounds like stay right.
11:18:41 So, you know we're not making new old growth if it's not before 18.
11:18:46 50 is not old growth. Is that? Can you breakdown?
11:18:50 I guess Dnr thought process about this is as we'll move into the next planning decade
11:18:54 So that's that's the policy as it stands right now.
11:18:59 Whether that changes or that j date fluctuates I that's way above my pay grade.
11:19:07 I I don't know but that today that's the policy and the way they're calculating the model right now. That's that's the current policy
11:19:20 So I went in, walked in what's called the quimper last wilderness.
11:19:26 It's a I think, on that carbon project, Mac.
11:19:28 It's either called Quimper, and it's got a lot of older forests in it, and the the part that's allocated for carbon is principally the old.
11:19:42 The old growth forest section of that, because that is of an age that clearly defines it as part of falling under that policy.
11:19:54 Dnr's policy around old old Growth forests.
11:19:58 And I'm not talking about legacy for us, and I'm not talking about older forests.
11:20:01 I'm talking about dnr: old growth Falls forest Policy.
11:20:05 How is that? I mean. Obviously it sequesters carbon because it's those big old trees do that.
11:20:11 But how is that? Where's the additionality there between the old growth Forest policy, and then that polygon?
11:20:23 It feels like it's already protect and set aside.
11:20:28 So I just was wondering how that got included
11:20:32 So I I'd have to go back and look. But I don't think that stand makes the pre 1,850 rule
11:20:40 According to
11:20:40 I think it's later in the 1,008 hundreds, so that would make it still available for harvest
11:20:47 I'd have to go look, to be sure the age class on it, but
11:20:46 Okay, okay, well, that was Donato a forest, someone, David, someone with the last name Donato, a forester with Dnr.
11:20:57 He is a natural resource scientist out of division
11:21:00 So apparently, according to that Donato person who I've not yet met.
11:21:07 Okay.
11:21:09 It was considered the old growth policy applied to at least a big portion of it, so I I'm just trying to understand how this additionally I'm trying to understand additionality.
11:21:22 So I was just trying to pull up an example that I had seen with my own eyes the other day or unit 3
11:21:26 Yeah, I I'd have to go back and look at the age class on it to see.
11:21:30 Okay.
11:21:30 I I know that they did a fairly thorough walkthrough on it.
11:21:36 Dan did as well as my local technician so, but I'd have to go back and look at the age class
11:21:42 Okay, okay, but on that the the Beer Valley unit that was pulled from the Beaver Valley sale on the carbon project list.
11:21:51 And I guess I'm my questions about additionality are are similar to Heidi's and just wondering how if that was already hold how do we demonstrate additionality like you were
gonna maybe go back and auction it again, or I mean what's
11:22:13 Hmm. Okay.
11:22:06 So by by the old growth policy. I could go in there and it's still operable land and a lot of that has to do with going in and identifying parcels within the parcel so a 5 acre
block cause a lot of that unit was some of I think was even
11:22:30 Older. There was younger forest, you know, within that same block
11:22:35 Okay.
11:22:36 So you'd have to go in and and do a real thorough job of identifying 5 acre parcels and connectivity and all that to decide what's what's harvestable.
11:22:47 And what's not
11:22:49 Okay and that work will still have to be done, as part of the carbon project.
11:22:55 If it's if it's chosen right
11:22:58 Yeah, I didn't. I didn't catch that.
11:23:00 I said, and that work, if it's if the Beaver Valley unit is eventually selected as part of the carbon project, that work would still have to happen to demonstrate that additionality
11:23:12 Yeah, I'm not. Sure we're we're so initial into all that that I'm I'm not sure what what the next move is gonna be
11:23:22 Okay, in a general question. You know one of the kind of, I guess baseline underings that is not understood by all is, do older trees sequester more or less carbon than younger
trees.
11:23:41 You know we've we've gotten a 2,014.
11:23:44 Article forwarded to us, where they establish that you know, Doug for it.
11:23:50 Others continue to sequester more as they get older, and I was wondering if Dnr has a perspective on that
11:23:58 Right not to my knowledge I that'd be a chinker question
11:24:06 Thanks
11:24:09 I've got a question as we look to the new sustainable harvest. Yield.
11:24:16 Is there any any talk or models of of achieving that in a more selective Harvard management system? Is that something that's being talked about or being demonstrated anywhere
with the Dnr kind of relies on or works with
11:24:34 Oh, my! Know that fitting and and partial cutting is part of that!
11:24:40 How they put that in the model and figure that out.
11:24:44 I I don't know. Sounds like it'd be a good good to bring Kate Mcnalty and how talk more about that or Jay Justin, Sally.
11:24:57 Yeah, I guess, Justin, he's our modeler. So
11:25:00 Great. Okay. Thank you.
11:25:05 Okay. I do want to express my appreciation for this deeper dive. David.
11:25:09 Thank you for joining us. It's great to you know, as we're trying to understand it.
11:25:14 Feel more the layer of the onion to deep in our understanding, so appreciate it
11:25:20 Yeah. Thanks.
11:25:24 Let's go out in the forest yeah, next one. I'll walk and talk.
11:25:30 Yeah.
11:25:36 Is there anything else you guys want to cover today
11:25:33 They are right with me.
11:25:42 So our next update from you will be in a few months right quarterly.
11:25:47 And I, and we'll see Drew tomorrow after or tomorrow.
11:25:52 And Brian to talk about preparing for Wednesday, and then we'll see you on Wednesday.
11:25:56 Yep.
11:25:58 We're not taking public comment at this time. I see hands going up.
11:26:03 But this is not. Oh, there was okay. Sorry. We are taking public comment.
11:26:09 Okay.
11:26:08 So if anyone would like to make a comment or ask a question, please raise your hand, using the raise hand button at the bottom of the zoom screen, and we'll bring you over for
a question Tom.
11:26:21 You'll be first
11:26:25 Thank you. Thanks for the update Dnr folks.
11:26:29 I had a question for it for you, especially regarding your policies and procedures.
11:26:33 A month ago there was a case ruled on in Jefferson County, Superior Court that halted activity from Dnr.
11:26:40 On a couple of couple of parcels, and you know, pointing to violations of Seba, and I was wondering if what Dnr is doing.
11:26:51 You know, response to that with respect to all of the other sales that are that are pending, ongoing and and plan.
11:27:13 So so far, we I I can't answer the appeal question.
11:27:19 That's that's an Olympia question.
11:27:21 What we've been directed to do is they've rewritten the language.
11:27:25 I don't think we've seen the judges right up on it yet.
11:27:32 He he made the ruling, and then went on: Vacation is my understanding.
11:27:35 So what we've been doing right now is rewriting the sepas and submitting an addendum to those and we have final language that's being reviewed by the ages office right now and
hoping to see that this week
11:27:54 Great. Thank you, and I
11:28:04 Okay.
11:28:06 Well, I don't. I don't know anything about the status of Judge Harper right now.
11:28:15 Anyone else has joined us. Online who'd like to ask a question of our colleagues at Dnr, or add something to the conversation.
11:28:22 Please use the raise hand button at the bottom of the zoom screen, and otherwise let's hear what Cindy has to say or ask
11:28:32 Yeah, we can hear you. Great
11:28:31 Hello! Can you hear me? I'm Cindy Brad's resident of Port Townsend, just commenting as a citizen.
11:28:39 Or asking a question as a citizen today, and I think Tom's question.
11:28:44 He probably covered it, but I'll has it in a different way just to clarify for me.
11:28:51 I I wondered if
11:28:55 Vnr. Is or the State is taking action in any way to resolve the Okay, conflict or differences between Wac.
11:29:08 A department of ecologies, language requiring that Sepa include greenhouse gas emissions as an air pollutant, and that air, quality and climate be addressed as part of Sepa.
11:29:21 And also Rcw's natural climate solutions.
11:29:25 I could give you the the number of that, too. But the natural climate solutions account that was passed in 21 that says either preserve or increase or both carbon sequestration
and storage benefits in force. So it's seems like dnr's
11:29:43 Hasn't been well, there's just a a conflict between What Dnr does and what those 2 sources say. So could you come in on that, please?
11:29:55 I that's above my pay rate. That's gonna be an Olympia decision on how they're handling that and what they're gonna do with it.
11:30:06 Hey? Well, last call for questions or comments regarding this topic, and all the discussion we just had about our as part of our quarterly report from Dnr is there anyone else
with us online today who would like to ask a question please I I'm sorry I have this cough.
11:30:26 Still please use the raise hand button at the bottom of your zoom screen, and I see there's one other hand up
11:30:39 Jean, you'll need to unmute, and you'll have 3Â min for pop public comment
11:30:45 Good morning, everyone. Can you hear me
11:30:48 Yep.
11:30:49 Fabulous. Thank you for the presentation and sharing of information.
11:30:55 Just one comment to add, and that is about the presentation.
11:31:02 And just an observation that it alleviates a great deal of backtracking.
11:31:10 If the interested parties are engaged in open dialogue as opposed to discovering things after the fact, and then having to re take steps we have previously undergone so and
this is this has been sort of a persistent plaguing problem, that there is a there could be greater
11:31:34 Transparency and engagement of many voices who can alleviate these burdens.
11:31:42 So I would encourage Dnr. When analyzing particular properties for harvest or other measures that they are.
11:31:52 Diligent and engaging interested parties. Thank you.
11:32:03 Sure. Do you wanna respond? Or I mean I was gonna say, I think.
11:32:07 Is there not a public notice? Requirement for timber sales right
11:32:12 Sepa, and and the sale itself
11:32:19 So, but I think that part of what David outlined to us is the fairly extensive consultation you guys do with other subject matter.
11:32:30 Experts and developing timber sales. I don't know where Ms.
11:32:37 Ball would suggest that we you know. Who do we add to that list?
11:32:42 I guess, is my question. So maybe Gene, you can.
11:32:48 You can tell me, and I can, bringing the question back. Sorry
11:32:54 Okay, it looks like we haven't at once more question.
11:32:57 And I'm gonna do a last call for folks wanting to make a comment or a question to our colleagues at Dnr.
11:33:04 I see one other hand, up. If anyone else would like to raise their hand.
11:33:07 Please. Do so now and we'll bring you over after Patricia Jones.
11:33:12 Patricia
11:33:15 Thank you for the opportunity to comment, and thanks to the agency staff for the helpful presentation, and also just being willing to engage with stakeholders.
11:33:27 Our organization has been able to talk with the region over many years and really appreciate their patience and willingness to continue to share information.
11:33:38 My question is just looking at your spreadsheet.
11:33:41 I know you do work on these sales at various levels of details, as David explained over the period of many years, actually you do a 5 year, plan, and you have the sustainable
harvest calculation a 5 year plan and then as you get closer to the sale gets more and more
11:34:03 Detailed but I'm wondering if it is at all possible to share in your quarterly reports.
11:34:10 The the Five-year Plan, where? Where? Where those sales are at going forward, and not just once they're under contract, and when the funds are being distributed. One question
and second question I've never understood the money flow
11:34:26 When the operator or the purchaser they have to pay us.
11:34:32 Is there a set amount of percentage they have to pay at the beginning.
11:34:36 Once the sale goes into contract to hold the contract, and then do they not have to pay until they're actually under operation?
11:34:44 Can you explain the money flow just a little bit more? Thank you all so much
11:34:49 Yes, so I'm on day of sale. They have to. We have.
11:34:53 We set a minimum bit, and then they they come in with their bid.
11:34:59 They have to come into the to the auction with 1010.
11:35:04 Of their bid value. And then, if the the successful bidder, we take that 10% and hang on to that, and that is actually the final payment of the timber sale.
11:35:17 So we get the 10%. They a lot of times. They don't start operating until it kind of depends on when we sell it.
11:35:25 If we're selling a sale in November, or December, they may not operate till June or July, so they don't make any payments until they actually other than the initial 10 they
don't make any payments until they actually remove volume from the
11:35:42 Sale, so monthly, typically it's monthly. The contract administrator will say, Okay, on a simple lump.
11:35:52 Some sale, you know. They bid 2 million dollars. They put 200,000 down on as a 10%, and then you know a value per acre, 5 10,000, 15,000, whatever it is, you'll watch what they
remove they took 1010 acres then we bill on that every month.
11:36:11 So they send in a bill. David Staff post that bill to the company.
11:36:19 They have 14 days to make this payment, and then, generally speaking, within 14 days, we distribute that to the trustee, like the county, and then the the final 10% is held
as the final payment for the sale.
11:36:36 But it isn't released until the sale goes through audit. So if there's been any mistakes, then we can catch that before it goes out.
11:36:46 And I've had to come back to Jefferson County and ask for money back because it was a mistake in the billing, and the past treasurer did not like me very much cause I I had
to ask her.
11:37:00 For a fairly sizable sum of money to come back, and because an overpayment had been made and she made darn sure I knew every single trustee or every junior tax district.
11:37:13 I impacted in great details. So we wait till the final that final 10.
11:37:19 It goes through audit. They they check all the paperwork in Olympia.
11:37:24 They go through the complete finance, and it takes depending on the complexity of the sale.
11:37:30 2 weeks to a month, and they get that done, and then they'll notify me.
11:37:34 They keep a spreadsheet, and I can look at the spreadsheet and say, Okay, and rehab final distribution, went out to the county.
11:37:45 January, third, and then I know it's it's on its way or you, while when when you actually receive it, I get notice that way I can track along with the treasure on. You know
what's going on.
11:37:56 So, but they'll I can go to that spreadsheet and find out when they distribute.
11:38:02 And you know when I'm building these month or these quarterly reports, I'll go through, and and I know what I got distributions on, and I tracked the final cost.
11:38:11 But if I know something's coming that I can look and say, Okay, it's in audit.
11:38:16 They just closed out paperwork they should be issuing a final payment within a week.
11:38:21 Then I can put that on the next quarter, and I and I know it's common.
11:38:25 But but that's that's a short course on how it distributes.
11:38:30 So if you get into scale sales, whether they be script or volume, or or tonnage, so they get a lot more complicated.
11:38:37 David's staff has to reconcile all the tickets for the month.
11:38:42 Everything has to go through and approved scale. We receive the scale reports, and we have to reconcile the tickets against that and then build a building. But it's a little
more complicated and basically the same thing
11:39:00 Thanks. Drew. Was there a first part of Chris's question that
11:39:08 I think you answered her whole question, but
11:39:11 What's that?
11:39:12 I was wondering if we answered the first part of Princess's question, but I was coughing in the midst of it, so I I I trust that we did
11:39:22 Okay.
11:39:20 That was concerning the 5 Year plan. We could come up with a way to do that.
11:39:26 So I? When David said we did 5 year plans.
11:39:30 I had to laugh. It is very difficult to schedule 5 years, and because we had a lot of plans that weren't finalized like the mirrorlet plan.
11:39:41 I pushed my staff to do a 5 year plan for me because we need it.
11:39:47 I mean this allows David and some of his staff to do like survey and rights, of way and longer term workload planning.
11:39:56 But it changes so fast because of those plans not being finalized that I I pushed, but I didn't push hard well, when the mirror lac got done I pushed harder and said I need
a 5 year plan I I've gone, here on you for 5 years now I need a plan and
11:40:13 we got one done, and then we ran into Covid, and we ran into staffing issues, and so the way a 5 year plan would work is yet your years.
11:40:24 3, through 5 are are educated. Yes, this is the best I can come up with and then years.
11:40:33 Year 2 is pretty much locked into place. David's starting to look at that and say, Okay, I need to get scheduled.
11:40:42 All my specialists we need to talk to survey. We need to look at rights away, and you know if we need an easement.
11:40:47 We gotta start that at year 2 and then year. One is what we're actually working on.
11:40:54 So I've got high confidence in one and 2, and far less confidence in 3 through 5.
11:41:01 I mean, you know it's it's gonna change. We're gonna have to shuffle volume forward and backwards, and you know, and and then when you reach the end of a decade I told him you
know, you guys have to give me 31 and 7 and we gotta have those in and here's
11:41:16 The numbers that I'm gonna I'm guessing again.
11:41:20 It's an educated guess, but it's a here's what I think is gonna come based on last decade.
11:41:26 Give me those numbers as a minimum, and then, as soon as we get a final plan we'll adjust.
11:41:35 You know what I'm not holding anybody's feet to the fire on years.
11:41:39 3, through 5, and and especially as we go into into Fiscal 25 cause. That's gonna be the new decade, and we're still still in a planning stage.
11:41:52 When do you? When do you think that
11:41:49 For that they haven't run the models yet. So but I don't know if you'd want to do that in these meetings or schedule something different.
11:42:00 It might be a little cumbersome to go through that in this meeting, but
11:42:05 I think it could be done as part of this this meeting.
11:42:08 You know we could figure out how to keep it tight.
11:42:13 But when do you think they'll start the process for the next sustainable harvest?
11:42:17 Calculation, or they've already started. I understand. Yeah.
11:42:22 So is that's probably
11:42:20 Oh, it's it's already started. Yeah, and it those things I I'm on the steering committee for it and though they're huge.
11:42:30 They're cumbersome. And so there I we've done some of the initial public meetings, and I don't know where we're at on c but I've lost track, of that one but and and they're
still arguing. Over what's.
11:42:46 Gonna go into the model and and it's very cumbersome.
11:42:49 What so far they're on track. But I've got nothing.
11:42:52 I can point out, you know and say, Well, this is where I think we're gonna land so, and and they they're trying a kind of a different approach to it this year or this decade.
11:43:05 And how we pick the the actual on the ground units, and so they've they've led a contract where we're having a contractor go out on the ground with a set of criteria and locate
the units on.
11:43:19 The ground force, and actually walking it and looking which is way more robust than what we've done in the past.
11:43:26 So I'm I'm kind of hopeful. I'm gonna get a pretty good product out of it.
11:43:31 But but we're we're a long ways, I mean.
11:43:35 I can give you 24. I know what I'm doing there, but as far as 25.
11:43:40 Well, 5 year would be 25 through 2928, and I I can give you numbers that I think are gonna come up.
11:43:49 But you know it's as many changes as we've been through.
11:43:53 I don't have a lot to base my numbers on anymore.
11:43:55 I'm I'm just looking at last. Decades model
11:44:01 Okay.
11:44:05 Not hearing you, Heidi
11:44:20 No
11:44:26 So we've had trouble with the the Commissioner's chambers, losing audio pretty regularly.
11:44:33 Okay.
11:44:31 So that's probably what's happened. Cause I hear you guys, yeah.
11:44:37 10Â s, right? I'm not sure if you're seeing the message that they're working on it, they said.
11:44:42 Give them to their 20Â s
11:44:44 Okay.
11:44:47 Yeah, it's back
11:44:45 Testing testing okay. So my question was so that I don't have to create extra work for anyone in the region.
11:44:56 Is that is there like, is it the Bnr.
11:45:00 That gets the updates on the sustainable harvest, calculation, or where are those yeah, okay, cause.
11:45:04 Yeah.
11:45:08 Oh, okay.
11:45:05 I've been going to most of those meetings, but not all of them, so I'll look I'll look to those agendas for updates.
11:45:13 I don't. I don't need something more specific or detailed from you guys for sure.
11:45:16 Okay.
11:45:18 Okay. Thanks.
11:45:18 I'm just trying to get educated on this sustainable harvest calculation myself, so
11:45:26 Okay. Well, I if there's nothing else, I think we really. Oh, here comes my cough again.
11:45:32 We really appreciate you guys being here today, David. It was great to meet you, and we look forward to the next update from all of you guys and and the meetings later.
11:45:42 This week that we'll be talking about with chickity Forestry and the carbon project questions that are cropping up in our community
11:45:52 Okay.
11:45:53 Thank you.
11:45:54 Have a good rest of the bag
11:45:56 Bye.
11:45:59 Very much
11:45:59 No, you're welcome.
11:46:03 Okay. Okay. So that was the only specific agenda item.
11:46:14 We had this morning, and we already did briefing and calendaring.
11:46:19 Is there anything else we wanna do this morning before we have our we have 2 workshops starting at 1 30, so we'll come back together 4 30 your time, Kate.
11:46:32 1 30, our time. Anything else. Okay, well, then, I will recess us until 1 30
13:30:38 Great
13:30:42 So are you speaking to start? Are you gonna introduce us, or
13:30:51 Alright, and it's actually 1 30 me!
13:30:54 I was on screen. Do you need to come in to wait until phone phone 1 30 apple 1 30 okay.
13:31:07 Okay.
13:31:29 I will
13:31:33 Alright. Welcome back, everyone I will call this meeting of the Board of County Commissioners back into order our our chair, Heidi Eisenhower, is dealing with a lot of challenge
signatures on the the pre certification canvassing board so she will be a few moments late, but we did not want
13:31:52 To, keep our guests waiting, so I know that she will follow up and and look at the tape.
13:31:58 But next up on our agenda is is public health.
13:32:01 To here to talk about audio, I, and maybe other accessibility features.
13:32:06 So I'll turn it over to you, Appleton.
13:32:08 Okay. Make introductions. Thanks. Commissioner Bryant. I'm apple.
13:32:11 Martine. I'm the director at Jefferson Kenny.
13:32:13 Public health and I'm here with our communications team with Body Opensky and Liz Anderson.
13:32:19 We're here to share with you all an accessibility plan that we have recently onboarded to our Justin County public health, website and all of its sub pages to help improve the
and update the ability for folks.
13:32:35 Looking at our website and utilizing the content to use it in ways that is most usable to them.
13:32:40 So we're gonna have sort of a detail of what the audio eye is, how it functions.
13:32:47 What capabilities it provides! The users, and then how we are interacting with it from a staffing standpoint, to enhance all the ways that we convey information to the public.
13:33:00 So thanks for the invitation to share this with you, and we hope that it's something that moves forward and is applicable to all websites around the county eventually I'll start
with Liz take it away
13:33:19 Alright. Good afternoon. Thanks for having us as Apple said.
13:33:24 We're here today to present our audio, I and then our new Jcph Mobile app in 2,022.
13:33:34 Our communications team has brought in $250,000 in grants.
13:33:37 To support the Health Department through building, community equity, emergency, preparedness, and support for our staff
13:33:48 So a little bit of background about audio, I our team meets with civic plus, which is the county's current software platform.
13:33:58 Every quarter to optimize our website and go over the previous quarters.
13:34:02 Performance, and one of our meetings this year they mentioned that 97% of the web is inaccessible to people with disabilities.
13:34:12 So with a lot of our grants being largely focused on equity this year we wanted to find a way to optimize the user experience.
13:34:20 So we contracted with audio, I to significantly change our websites.
13:34:26 Accessibility. I'd like to note that even this sl the slideshow was intentionally created with colors and texts.
13:34:35 That is easier to read for a visually impaired audience
13:34:41 So we want to let you a little know a little bit more about what audio I is, how it works and who it helps so for the basics audio.
13:34:50 I is a web accessibility platform that ensures Ada and Wcag compliance through a combination of automation technology and certified professionals.
13:35:03 They consistently monitor our website
13:35:07 Can you tell us what thank you.
13:35:15 It's the world wide web consortium, and this includes webcont accessibility.
13:35:24 Guidelines and it's a set of accessibility standards, and instructions on making digital content like website mobile apps.
13:35:31 Online Pdfs more accessible to people with disabilities
13:35:39 Oh!
13:35:42 So with audio I we can offer barrier free access to our website promoting all of our public health services.
13:35:55 And by implementing it. Our website is now optimized to be accessible
13:36:03 To people with auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical speech, or visual impairments, who rely on assistive technologies, such as screen readers and other devices to browse
the internet.
13:36:20 This supports accessibility. Oh, sorry, if there's ever an issue where the website is not optimal running audio is going to let us know of the issue, and either they go in and
fix it right away or if it's something outside of their scope that only we have access to
13:36:41 They'll give us the opportunity to make changes behind the scenes.
13:36:47 We have an issue reporting dashboard that kind of lets us know where the problems are, and then they do periodic manual audits.
13:36:58 And so once they do those the let us know how to fix it, or they'll fix it for us.
13:37:04 Periodic meaning weekly, monthly, they they monitor daily.
13:37:12 I don't know when they do. The audits in December is actually gonna be our first meeting with them after the implementation, and so what they do is they take ninety-day metrics
and provide us with those and then we're going to learn more how to use the dashboard and
13:37:28 Whatnot. So we're still in training with this
13:37:35 So. Not only does it run behind the scenes there's actual an interactive tool on our website I think that's what you were looking at over the weekend that makes available free
assistive web personalization tools via the toolbar and I will never see another serif on the public
13:37:57 Health. Website there you go. So the it's gonna be in the bottom left corner, and once you click this icon a toolbar will come up, and this is integrated into our website to
provide a suite of customizable assistive features to for users just to tailor the experience and so you can
13:38:20 Have over the difference. I can't do it on here, but if you go to our website you can ho hover over well the different icons and you can
13:38:32 Change the colors, fix the color, contrast in large text size or decrease the text size play with the fonts a little bit.
13:38:41 There's even a screen reader, Toolbar and I wanted just to note that this is available on both our website and on the new mobile app where is.
13:38:54 I didn't see the screen. Reader Toolbar. I think it's guide.
13:39:00 If you click on, guide. No good is just an actual line that goes across the screen.
13:39:09 No, there should be
13:39:15 It might be window, I would check. It's an actual window panel that comes up.
13:39:22 It's grayed out, and it'll yeah narrate what you click on. Yeah. And once you click on something you have to unclick or click on it again for it.
13:39:38 To go away or you cycle through right. I did playing with it, you know.
13:39:41 And you don't really see the options by hovering. Is that right?
13:39:44 You just see that you can, but you can use this like I said.
13:39:53 There are so many different ways. You can use this people can use the
13:40:06 They can use on switch devices, and I didn't know what a switch device was.
13:40:11 But it's actually like a blow and sip device that people can blow into.
13:40:16 And this is all compatible with that as well if you don't have like mobility in your hands.
13:40:25 And with that I Meanm gonna pass you to Bonnie O'brien Ski, who's gonna tell us about our new app
13:40:32 Thanks Liz, that was a great presentation. It's good to know that we have these access measures in place.
13:40:41 Okay. So this is an announcement that we have a new product in place by civic plus.
13:40:48 They have a mobile. App this integrates directly with our existing, website.
13:40:55 And I encourage everyone who's tuning in, including the people in this room, to go ahead and pick up their phones.
13:41:03 If you feel like you want to work along with me here and get ready to download the app
13:41:13 Step one, get out your phones
13:41:19 Find the app you use to download more apps. If you're using an iphone you're probably looking for the icons of the a in the blue, and if you're on an android, phone you're probably
looking for the Google play icon on the other side then
13:41:38 you're gonna search, Jeff Co. Public health and the icon is going to be our logo on a white square
13:41:48 And depending on the speed of your connection that may take some time to open
13:41:59 And I'm video here, just showing what you can expect
13:42:08 Great good job, Mark, so as you may have quickly seen in the video.
13:42:14 Once you open, it it takes you to a quick splash screen, which is the photo of happy people, and then it takes you to a menu of options that are on buttons.
13:42:30 And then, if you go to the cog, wheel in the top right hand corner, you get to notifications.
13:42:35 This is something I'm working on now with civic class that will soon connect you to all of the alerts that we have on our website, that you can sign up to alerts, including
the public health newsletter and a wide variety of other county county wide alerts even beyond public health
13:42:59 Why do we need a mobile app? You might ask if you're a skeptical Persian cat.
13:43:07 So there are a few, reasons, and this for me is one of the most standout reasons.
13:43:15 If any one of you has tried to navigate our website on your phone, you may notice that these side menus aren't there when you go to the sub pages, and that is an inherent unchangeable
thing about civic plus websites where on the mobile viewing that's side, menu goes
13:43:38 To the very bottom of the page, and then makes it harder to find what you're looking for.
13:43:46 You know, for example, I was recently looking on our septic page, and all of the things that says, you know information for homeowners, rebates all of that is no longer accessible
and visible.
13:43:59 At the top, and so we hope to one day expand this mobile.
13:44:02 App, so we can make all of our pages more easily navigable alright. And this is just a demonstration of how far you have to scroll to get to those side menu options.
13:44:19 We're scrolling. We're scrolling
13:44:24 And then, after all this information, we have great information about Covid.
13:44:29 Then we finally get to the area where it's like: okay, I can easily click to find vaccine and information.
13:44:35 Testing face coverings so on the app. That's easier to navigate and for you to get more directly to where you need to go, and I kind of breezed over this in the other video.
13:44:48 But when you open the mobile, app this menu appears in clickable buttons.
13:44:53 So it in my mind it visually. It's easier to search and find what you're looking for. When you then click on the button app it takes you directly to our website in a web browser
13:45:08 What if you don't want to click on any of the buttons?
13:45:11 Well, then, you can let me know what you'd like to see there, and we'll get it going well, like if I wanted. I'm open the public health app and I want to go to environmental
public health all I see is covid stuff and I can't make it.
13:45:23 Quarrel away. Well, this app is paid for by Covid funding and so we had to make sure that that was a priority in terms of directing people to information that said now, that
it's up and running we can add as many buttons, as we like, and that's something that I want to
13:45:46 Explore as we expand this tool. So the buttons are in the buttons.
13:45:53 Are it, and those notification alerts, once they get going, then you can easily turn on and off.
13:46:01 You know what you subscribe to
13:46:05 Is that my last slide? It might be. No, there's a couple more.
13:46:10 Why is it not going, Liz? Oh, there we go!
13:46:17 Yeah.
13:46:20 Oh, there! I think there's a demonstration of the clickable buttons which you already discovered.
13:46:26 Yeah with the cat. PA. Hell! Helping you along. All right. Download the Jeff Co.
13:46:32 Public health app, and tell your friends to do the same right now, and and I promised I'd give a shout out to my mom dad, who are tuning in them from Massachusetts to see my
presentation today.
13:46:47 So we really do see the expanding that
13:46:51 Feature okay, pacific plus no way the websites are assigned
13:46:59 Hold it as our sort of next yeah, specifically, for to from that, and to do it too.
13:47:09 All of our just a
13:47:14 Vibration to making our services and
13:47:22 Or more more accessible.
13:47:26 That's great.
13:47:30 Time for questions, or you still have a pitch right?
13:47:32 We're accepting questions now, Kate, do you have any questions for for public health communication?
13:47:39 Drewers.
13:47:40 I don't know but it's it's really great to see, you know.
13:47:46 Us take accessibility seriously and really embrace all the technology has to offer so appreciate you guys being at the cutting edge.
13:48:04 Cool, I'm sure Heidi would have some questions if she wasn't doing the canvassing.
13:48:07 But I gotta couple questions. I guess so. A firewall.
13:48:11 I mean this is paid for. This is an annual subscription to audio.
13:48:16 I so this I mean I thought there was some interest in spreading this program to other departments, and I'm just wondering what's the annual cost for audio.
13:48:26 I and for the app itself. And what's like the what's the model going forward that you guys are looking at
13:48:34 So I can speak to the cost. I think it was back in August we got a quote for implementation for the entire county would be $8,000 annually.
13:48:47 I don't know what that's gonna reflect in 2023.
13:48:50 But that was 20. Twenty-two's cost, but with our funding we were, we paid for the Jefferson County public health org domain, and so how much was that I mean?
13:49:04 What's like one domain compared there. I think it was 5,000.
13:49:07 That doesn't mean that it's going to be 5,000 to add.
13:49:12 But it was 5,000 for us to get up and and running.
13:49:16 Okay. And this is a an ongoing, renewable service.
13:49:22 Yeah, I believe it was general funds that were used for it.
13:49:27 Gotcha, and then the app is through civic plus the app is through civic plus, and the annual fee, I believe, is in the range of $5,000.
13:49:37 There was an extra fee to just get it up and running and design.
13:49:42 Okay. In order to get all of the back door stuff taken care of to get it set up.
13:49:48 We had to use because we are a county entity. They needed some information.
13:49:56 That is.
13:49:58 Even though it's a public health app. It's using the county's whole, you know.
13:50:04 I don't know what to call it account identity, online. Identity.
13:50:08 So, if for example, other departments wanted to get in on the we might have to have it be a county app and have public health be a part of it, and redesign.
13:50:20 Oh, right. So you've got a Jefferson County public health app, and maybe have taken the app capability for the county as far as civic.
13:50:30 Plus okay, and I guess going forward with the app.
13:50:36 What do you? I mean? What are what are the next steps? It's like.
13:50:39 It's very covid focus right now as you explained.
13:50:42 I mean, do you? Do you think that this is going to be like?
13:50:44 Can we tie it into inter gov for the permit process?
13:50:48 I mean I'm just you know. It's like the possibilities are endless of turning your phone into a viable way to navigate county website.
13:50:56 So all of those things are important and potential future applications.
13:51:01 I think at the moment we wanted to just convey the process of the starting up of it in in tandem with how we have functionality through civic plus, and I' it.
13:51:14 To Mark, and he was excited for you all to hear that this innovation was happening in the county which Kate spoke to eloquently.
13:51:21 I think really the pitch for now is just, or the county as a whole.
13:51:26 To consider these. These enhancements, that actually speak very overtly to accessibility, and as our the public is changing and needing to know information in new ways, and
we are needing to keep up with how they want need to access this information that it'd be good for audio I to be account-wide
13:51:47 Service for S. Accessibility for folks with disabilities, and then the mobile app feature is part of that sort of accessibility.
13:51:56 Continuum. I think you know, as far as public health is concerned, we have a combination of general fund and a specific national grant.
13:52:05 We have through Nature to help us with with you? Hear about the com?
13:52:09 Nope, no, conc not this time. This is the grant that Bonnie thought out specifically, and so that that will have its limit, of course.
13:52:21 But I think as she mentioned, if the app is something that is advisable and or desirable by all county departments to enhance how their viewers see their content on the county,
website, it might be they might behoove us to have a general account account, and then we be a participant of that right
13:52:42 now we're being the guinea pigs, right? So we're conveying that to you all in terms of how helpful it's been, and we do appreciate you serving as the guinea pig for the county
and I think the commissioners, all know that we have
13:52:55 advertised a half time communication specialist, a job or position, and we have 6 applications for that.
13:53:06 Okay, the application period first review is Friday, there are a couple of promising candidates in the pool, and this will be one of the missions of that person when they come
on board.
13:53:17 That's great. Does this connect to social media at all?
13:53:21 Is it no, it doesn't connect to our social media at all, except for the fact that there's a lot of training that we can start doing with the audio.
13:53:30 I now training classes and you know, like I said, they do a lot of the behind the scenes work where they catch the you know mistakes or errors on our website to so we can be
more accessible.
13:53:45 However, oh! With things changing so quickly in the technology around, we still need to do a lot of training, and we have been for the past few years.
13:53:56 So on social media, we can implement the same tools, you know, making, you know, for example, explaining what our images are for people who can't see them you know just putting
those accessibility features in place there yeah, we use many so far that we've just created so using high contrast colors
13:54:21 Typically blues and yellows are ones that are most visible to folks with impaired vision.
13:54:27 We've worked out a situation with a Spanish translator, so that all of our translation into the Spanish is done locally.
13:54:35 We wanted to make sure that that was sourced in the county.
13:54:38 Rather than out of the county. So we're building sort of a repertoire of ways to make social media more accessible via these same types of strategies.
13:54:49 But these particular instances today the audio I and the mobile app aren't specifically for our social media feeds at this time great
13:55:01 Any any questions come to you, Kate.
13:55:06 Okay. Well, it's exciting to branch into this this new way of communicating.
13:55:12 And you know diversifying our reach. So you know all sorts of people with different accessibility.
13:55:17 You know can can access a great so no. Ask. Now, yeah, feedback from folks in the community.
13:55:27 This.
13:55:30 Do you have any way of scraping that data from the the end user to see how it, how effective it is we don't know yet, but, as I said in December, we're gonna have our 90 day
meeting and once we get to that we'll be able to see all the functions of the
13:55:48 dashboard, and so, but we didn't want to have that meeting too soon.
13:55:52 We wanna have some kind of metrics to look at so, and of course we'll be able to tell how many people download the app.
13:55:59 And it is rateable just as any other app is cool, double edged swords.
13:56:06 Get a bunch of ones. Great. Okay. Well, thank you guys so much great to see you in person.
13:56:15 Thanks for your continued work, thank you. Yeah. Look forward to seeing you back when the next phase develops.
13:56:21 Oh, yeah. Public comment period. Sorry. Thank you. Does anyone in the public would they like to make a comment?
13:56:32 You can click the raise hand, button, or star 9 if you're on your phone, or if you know so you could raise your hand in person if you're so moved and I think you're here for
the next next workshop, so anyone that would like, to make public comment we'd love to
13:56:45 hear from you
13:56:48 I see you, Dad.
13:56:53 We should be very proud. Okay, great? Well, close public comment for this.
13:56:59 Thank you guys so much for coming, and it's it's great to see you
13:57:02 Thank you. All.
13:57:06 You can. Oh, you can just leave it there, I think, for now we'll invite our our national Park friends up
13:57:13 Alright we do have. We're gonna we're still waiting for our chair.
13:57:17 Who's up with canvassing, so we'll just we'll take a recess for 5Â min into a 2 o'clock and we can get you guys set up here and you know meet in person.
14:01:25 So in DC. Then this is just local. This: is Jefferson County: yeah.
14:01:31 Our county auditor, Brunswick, elections. Is it?
14:01:35 Are we that Nope? Don't quite have a core.
14:01:40 I'm at going Michigan's okay.
14:01:43 I'm here
14:01:44 Alright. Well, I will call this meeting of the board accounting commissioners back into session, and we're here with friends from the Olympic National Park or the National Park
Service.
14:01:57 I should say Soula Jacobs and Gerald Weaver and Megan Huff.
14:02:01 Thank you so much for for coming by, and you know, while we we wait for Hi Heidi. I think you know, if you want to introduce yourself and talk about what's going on with the
Park we're really glad that, you made the trip out here sure thank you first commissioners for inviting us.
14:02:15 I'm Sue Jacobs, I am. I'm gonna still say very new superintendent of Olympic National Park.
14:02:21 I think I'm at 3 and a half months, and so I occasionally still point north when I mean south, and vice versa.
14:02:28 It is a really giant park, and so I appreciate everybody's.
14:02:32 Grace with me as I'm learning it. This park has a lot of complexities and a lot of amazingly important issues to locals as well as people literally I got an email this morning
from somebody from France.
14:02:46 And so Yeah, this this park really means a lot to a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons.
14:02:52 We are just gonna our summer season. It was, as you expected, fairly busy.
14:02:58 I came at the very end, so I like to see a little bit of the busyness.
14:03:02 But we we know we have a few spots that are getting higher visitations than normal that does happen.
14:03:10 And that's sort of what has been happening. Visitation throughout the National Park Service.
14:03:14 We are well into winter season. I was up at Hurricane Ridge day, the week, Monday, Saturday, and I was there, and it was snowing, and I was wearing lots and lots of clothing
and i'm still freezing the people had chains on their vehicle
14:03:33 It's definitely winter up there and certainly starting to gear up for skiing up.
14:03:38 There but the park service is always choosing ahead.
14:03:43 So we're starting to look at hiring for the summer.
14:03:45 And what's happening in the spring and summer already. That's sort of the way we cycle through is you kind of go.
14:03:52 Whatever season you're in. You're like okay, it's false.
14:03:54 So I should be thinking spring, winter, I should be thinking summer just so that way.
14:03:59 We're thinking what? Well ahead we're working on a bunch of issues.
14:04:04 Honestly, since I've only been at the Park 3 months a lot of those issues are me getting to know what the park is.
14:04:11 I feel tremendously lucky. I work with an amazing group of people.
14:04:14 I have 2 of my team members with me here today. Megan, would you mind introducing yourself alright?
14:04:20 So, my name is Megan I'm sorry, Megan.
14:04:24 We're really you swallow the microphone people won't be able to hear you. Online. Okay, Hi! My name is Megan Huff.
14:04:30 And I'm on a temporary assignment here at Olympic National Park, and normally I'm the Museum curator at Fort Vancouver National, historic site but here I am the public information
officer or just a couple more Weeks, great me too.
14:04:45 And we're outlook. Is there a camera right there? There we are.
14:04:50 It's the app we got one of those yeah, hey, folks?
14:04:54 I'm a Gerald weaver. I'm the lead for a cultural, natural resources at Olympic National Park.
14:04:58 I've been in the park about 2 and a half years, but like so I'm only claimed they were.
14:05:02 They were Covid years right so it's taken me a while to figure out the park out myself, but I think I've finally got at least a good handle on the resource resource concerns
that we have in the park so that's great and if you go in a little bit like how
14:05:14 You came here I'm I'm some. Some of that feels a little bit like the military, you know.
14:05:19 We? We superintendent, Joe? So I really like. Are you trying to keep everyone new for us?
14:05:24 No, so I have been in the parks ever since. 2,005, so I guess that makes it 17.
14:05:31 O years, mostly on the east coast. I started out in Washington, DC.
14:05:38 In the actual headquarters, and then on the Gd memorial Parkway is a consortium of 17 different sites.
14:05:43 The sites that people are more familiar with are great falls, and the Us.
14:05:48 Marine Corps War Memorial, which is a statue of Iwojima being raised, and absolutely one of the most amazing places to watch the Fourth of July I spent many many a summer working
the Fourth of July there I then after doing a few acting.
14:06:03 Assignments, went down to Biscay National Park, which is south of Miami.
14:06:07 It is a 95% marine park and a lot of similar coastal issues that we don't have bleaching here.
14:06:16 But a lot of fishing issues. There reefs trying to figure out different uses.
14:06:24 It's it's a very interesting interesting part. After that I went up to Cumberland Gap, National Historical Park, which is in Tennessee Kentucky, and Virginia, in Appalachia,
people are shaking their head it's an amazing It's it's about
14:06:38 2 out 2 and a half hours north of the Smokeies, but way less visited.
14:06:40 It's 900,000 visitors versus. I don't know.
14:06:44 7 8 million visitors, and it's phenomenal.
14:06:49 I love it, I recommend. While I was there I was lucky enough to spend time at Yosemite on an acting assignment as the deputy superintendent.
14:06:58 There back to Cumberland Gap, and then up to Delaware Watercap, which is actually where I'm originally from that exact area and then Olympic came open and I visited Olympic
Park well, before I started in the Park service and it was a
14:07:14 Special place to me, and I thought hey, this might be a literal once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
14:07:20 So I'm going to take the ones in a lifetime opportunity, and so 3 months in I have been able to visit some of the places I first visited several decades ago.
14:07:29 Say that, and it's been wonderful. But yes, it's we do move around a little bit between acting assignments and and things that's great. But I should say, my background.
14:07:42 This is a second career for me. So I started off doing strategic consulting.
14:07:45 I economics and East Asian studies background and grad school and public policy.
14:07:50 Well, so great, so I guess you know, unless you have, Kate feel free to interject.
14:07:57 But just love to hear what what kind of what what games are afoot on in the Olympic National Park?
14:08:03 You know we have, interface, you know. Option and places that are in Jefferson County, as well as in Shannon valley.
14:08:09 That I know we're gonna talk about the the whole river project that large flat project, you know.
14:08:14 Access to the whole entrance to the National Park is a big thing, and then you know the down the on in East Jefferson.
14:08:21 We have access, you know, around the dosey Wallops, which is you know, embroidery.
14:08:27 It's kind of got accessibility issues, and I think that's probably just stuck with the with the just different jurisdictions.
14:08:33 But love to hear what's going on with the Oh, and P.
14:08:37 That was a lot. So I would say operationalally, you know we we still have many things that happen.
14:08:44 Winter season may feel slow or just visitation wise, but there's a lot that happens.
14:08:50 A lot of it actually is starting to prep. Now for work that happens in the summer.
14:08:55 So clearly construction is you can do some amount of construction in this kind of environment in the winter, but it's not ideal, and certainly something like roads.
14:09:03 You can't really do that much during the winter, and so we do have a lot of things like that prepping.
14:09:09 We have a hugely significant project at Hurricane Ridge with the great American Outdoors Act, and so starting in April of 2,023 March April of 2,000 and 23 the visitor Center
up there will be closed for let's say, 2 issues.
14:09:25 So it might be you know, plus or minus depending on everything and there's going to be a lot of work done up there that's really, Major.
14:09:33 There are very few parks in the entire nation that got great American outdoors act Olympic is extremely proud to be one of the first I mean to have a project starting in 2,023
it means it was one of the first projects so cross the nation.
14:09:49 Right. There are 414 units more than 13 units somewhere near there, of all of those they were only a handful right.
14:09:56 It's like 50 or 60 that we even thought about for these projects in the first 2 years, and Olympic National Park is one of them.
14:10:03 I can't emphasize what a big deal that is, and how crowd all of us who are associated with Olympic national parks should be oh, sorry, no! Sorry!
14:10:17 And then the are a bunch of projects. I'm going to probably punt to Gerald.
14:10:22 On the whole, one on Enchanted Valley chalet.
14:10:27 We continue to work with both the Washington State Historic Preservation Office, as well as consulting parties to come to a memorandum of agree, and we do hope to come to conclusion,
sometime in 2020 a a determination of the course, at least okay, well and and all the things, that might come
14:10:46 With the course I mean it's a determination, and all the other aspects, but that potentially could be association with that determination.
14:10:54 What is I mean in a nutshell. The Hurricane Ridge project is redoing.
14:10:58 The visitor center, or is it? Yes, and you'll see.
14:11:02 And part of the reason. I well, I who doesn't want go to hurricane Rachel when it's snowing out.
14:11:07 It is magical place. It was lots and lots of fun.
14:11:10 Not a few snowball fights and sledding. Did I say?
14:11:15 But you can see on the outset that the sophets are definitely aged, you know it's it's an old building.
14:11:21 It is fairly well exposed, especially to the I guess that would be
14:11:28 Southeast side of it, so it gets pretty windy up there.
14:11:34 A lot of the stuff, though, are things that people are not going to see.
14:11:37 So it's an underground storage tank it's piping in the walls.
14:11:40 It's electric work. And so there are things that you definitely will see on the outside.
14:11:44 Sorry I got to remember to talk close to the microphone on the outside, but a lot of the stuff is actually between the walls. J.
14:11:52 Arg. We can add something I don't know if you'll remember seeing the big football field size, septic field that we did last year that I'm always there in the winter. So.
14:12:11 I don't think. But if you were at this, if you were to see this big green spot at the Hurricane Ridge, and that was the sip last year.
14:12:14 So this is all going improvement, just to try to bring in, and it's not a wilderness zone up there, is it?
14:12:23 And can you I mean just for my own edification, talk a little bit about some of the challenges and working in wilderness zones, as we maybe ask a few questions about Enchanted
Valley.
14:12:32 I just. I'm always a little uncertain. It makes our bureaucracies seem reasonable.
14:12:40 So the opportunities that exist in wilderness is, you know, really thinking through we it forces the park and and the other 4 agencies that have looted us to think through,
decisions and what we do in a very thoughtful systematic way where we really consider is this the best tool to be doing
14:12:59 The job. Is this the right structure? This man-made structure?
14:13:04 Is this the right thing to have there and sometimes the answer is, Yes, and there's a process to follow.
14:13:08 And sometimes the answer is No, and there's a process to follow.
14:13:12 So it goes, it talks about everything from potentially how many people could be out on any given trail, the the point in time to should we have a trail here?
14:13:22 Where should the trail be? Should it be marked, is a really big discussion.
14:13:28 How do we do search and rescue? Is a really big discussion, so there's all these kind of interwoven things, and it's relating to the wilderness act of 1,964 so this is legislated
Olympic national Park Clearly's
14:13:43 wilderness is one of the biggest wilderness in the lower 48, and it's it's an impressive wilderness, but it does mean that we really need to be even more thoughtful?
14:13:50 We're thoughtful in all of our decisions. We follow the national Environmental Policy Act.
14:13:55 We follow section 106 in the national historic Preservation Act, and we interweavely that with the Wilderness act as well when it's out in the wilderness.
14:14:06 I mean this perfect segue to enchanted Valley, which deals with both, you know, insert preservation and wilderness at the same point.
14:14:14 Right? So what's I guess? What's the National Park service?
14:14:18 What's the direction that you're looking at for the the chalet?
14:14:22 Well, I would say that we're still in the we're in that consoleation process right now, and I think that that that's where we're at.
14:14:27 But I would say overall the Park service really does look right.
14:14:30 I mean saw that Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, and one of the very unique things about Cumberland Gap is its historical park, which means that it has a heightened
level of historic preservation it is also one of the places on the eastern seaboard that
14:14:46 Actually has recommended wilderness, which the Park service treats as wilderness.
14:14:51 Okay. So there are these 2 things and what we really talked a lot about is how to be creative and thoughtful in our solutions and it took a lot of work it took a lot of talking
to stakeholders understanding the needs understanding both sides of an issue right it they can conflict with each other and there's
14:15:10 not an easy answer when there's a conflict
14:15:14 Gotcha, okay. And then, you know, we Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners is not given any input in the Enchanted Valley process.
14:15:23 Yeah. And I think we're probably like to give. You know our feedback, and I, you know I I think it's a great.
14:15:28 I love. You know, hiking for a day, and then and then coming on.
14:15:32 This old chalet is is pretty magical, I guess are the
14:15:38 Is it more bound by the wilderness act? I mean, I know when they moved the building in 2,014.
14:15:45 You know it was all. You know. I guess they use helicopters to take out some of the wood.
14:15:49 And everything. But it was pretty much. No modern tools right
14:15:55 I definitely was not here
14:16:06 There were that they use to do that.
14:16:13 Not only will or does, but but there's also some avalanche.
14:16:19 The Shelley, and as well as the the eroding Gotcha, so the toe of the hill is important as the as the water yeah, exactly is there room to move it.
14:16:31 Do you know, they evaluated that we have a few of morphologists moving in and potential locations for it, and to be honest with you? There's Google no feasible space save for
a long period of time
14:16:48 That's a pretty declarative sentence. There it is.
14:16:52 Okay. Okay, we have been. Let's still imagine we have it working through a kind of a planning process.
14:16:57 And we we we've been working through an environmental assessment that I don't know if you all were part of that process not part of it.
14:17:10 But I I paid a little attention to it. Yeah, so we can get various alternatives that we considered at that point from, you know, leave it where it was to to move it to various
locations, and ultimately we we still, haven't come up with a plenty of notice, at this point though we're we're kind
14:17:21 Of like in that area where we're trying to figure out.
14:17:22 What alternatives could be if we do end up removing the structure, and what medications there could be.
14:17:30 Gotcha. Okay, I mean, is it? Is it getting worse?
14:17:34 I thought the Quinn was not moving away from it.
14:17:36 This last couple of years it's still undermining. Every every year we hear more about the river and its migration.
14:17:44 We expect to hear that it is the Shelley just based on.
14:17:51 We have these large, low events that are occurring to the the timing
14:17:59 It would be surprise me that that the string bank would
14:18:03 So just do your life. But that was again if that happened and it fell into the river, what would what would be? I mean?
14:18:09 That would that would be an emergency right, and that would be helicopters to pull it all out.
14:18:15 I don't know what that would look like. Yeah, it would.
14:18:18 It would need it would right? Because then now we have potentially pieces of old LED wood and nails and all kinds of stuff in a pristine river right? That right?
14:18:33 And that's and so we would. We would need to.
14:18:34 We used still do a minimum requirement analysis, but it might.
14:18:40 It might mean a different I mean at that point. I don't know if it would mean helicopters like that.
14:18:46 That jury might be out on that. But hey, it would be a it would be a bad thing for that stream quality.
14:18:52 Which you know we always want to be concerned about stream quality, priority.
14:18:57 Number one, I would say. Really, I mean, it seems just being there that there's hundreds of feet of room that it could be moved safely. But I mean so unstable slopes so there
could be an avalanche upon it is that correct or those those river ring corridors could continue their room
14:19:19 An area where there's a long life expectancy for that building to sit Gotcha.
14:19:24 Okay? And what would be the best way for for us to add our voices to the chorus for preservation or or whatever choice that we think is worth pursuing okay, yeah, that's gonna
be so the environmental assessment had a public common period one like a year and a half ago last november
14:19:50 yeah, I think we did the first year, Covid, I want. I think it was virtual. It's not like the change for all of us right. So
14:19:58 At that point
14:20:04 Okay, at this point, I think just to get getting involved like we are with this advisor office trying to figure out what those mitigations look like is kind of the next technological
step
14:20:19 Back to you.
14:20:21 Where you all could eventually provide. Sure, yeah, I mean what kind of stakeholders are on the advisory board ship? Those office?
14:20:31 We have A/C HP. Which advice right here on historic properties.
14:20:36 Okay.
14:20:38 Concerned, citizens
14:20:45 You know there's there's like 4 or 5 it's a smaller group right?
14:20:48 Yeah. Okay.
14:20:52 Kate any anything on Enchanted Valley that you wanted to throw in or ask
14:20:58 No, I have some more general comments and questions, but not an ancient about which I also love and love the chalet there, and I'm sure that everyone is agonizing over a tough
decision
14:21:11 But I have about the chalet. This is my own ignorance, but people can't use it as a camp in, anymore because it's a wilderness. Area.
14:21:21 Is that right? Or why isn't? Why isn't it open at this point it's been closed at least since 2,014.
14:21:29 I think and I think that you know when I was there rangers were, you know, stowing gear in it, and such but I don't know.
14:21:36 I'm just curious about these these old shelters that are out and in in wilderness areas, and and what they're utility is in in in Today's age well, one of the things that we
talked about during kind of evaluating mitigations for and chatted dolly was
14:21:53 We were kind of. Could this building could be reused. Purpose put it back together would be used for the direct order for the public. That was an option.
14:22:05 We talked about, you know, taking components out that we could interpret to the public later on, like cultural pizza is like or lays the window.
14:22:13 But but actually having some class safety shelter, was mentioned as far as such an indication so so structure for appropriate in the willer is this problematic enough in the
river and there's other issues where it is at the side what are the other issues I don't gotcha
14:22:36 Okay, great. We might have more public comment about it. But, Kate, did you wanna ask your your other questions?
14:22:42 Sure, and I'm I'm sorry I'm not there in person with you all I'm in Washington, DC.
14:22:48 Where, of course, the National Park Service has such a big presence, and it's such a wonderful asset to all visitors and residents here so really appreciate you being here.
And I'm sorry I'm not there with you in person.
14:23:01 I I've been commissioner for about 6 years now, and have had almost no contact with with our colleagues.
14:23:08 There at the park and so with a new superintendent, it seemed like a great opportunity to start a new, and the you know I always like to say that the the county, with the the
greatest amount of Olympic National Park in it is Jefferson county and yet we of course have some real
14:23:26 access challenges. And so I guess I do. I would love to talk a little bit about the Dessie Wallace area, and just kind of access any any planning or efforts that that you're
aware of I would love to put in a Plug that you.
14:23:49 Know I I I happen to be at a real multimodal transportation fan, and I think there's there could potentially be an opportunity to to to talk about kind of alternative methods
of access there I get that the road there is a real challenge I you know i'd.
14:24:07 Probably many of us benefit from that road being washed out, and that we have access to incredible wilderness.
14:24:11 That is not filled with with a ton of cars, and you know we've all seen a kind of loving to death of our parks, which very much concerns me, and imagine that that's a challenge
for you as it is for state parks and county parks and municipal parks
14:24:30 So just just curious. If if you see any potential for any kind of infrastructure down on that side of the county, you know otherwise the the park ends up, feeling really a lot
less accessible to Jefferson county residents And And I will say just with that kind of lack of collaboration that
14:24:50 Our county has had with the park service like it ends up feeling like we.
14:24:55 We? We just don't. We're kind of crossing wires a lot.
14:24:59 So just curious kind of how you respond to that out assortment of comments
14:25:06 So I'll past the dusty one. Looks question to Gerald, but I'll ask the I'll answer the communication, and if you don't mind, I'm just gonna make it a little bit broader than
just Jefferson county I I appreciate that I think
14:25:26 Commissioner Brotherton emailed and said, Hey, we'd like you to be here.
14:25:31 It does take a little while when you're new in a place to get out and so I've slowly been going to, you know, rotaries and Kawanas, and to different things both virtually.
14:25:39 And in person when I can, meeting with our Ap tribal nations, is a huge priority for me.
14:25:46 So we actually met with a tribal nation. This week I met with a tribal nation, gave a talk last week, and the week before 2 weeks before that I did 3 talks in a day.
14:25:55 So it just takes a little coordination and also a reminder that to myself sometimes that I can only there's only so many of those that I can do it in a day, but we would welcome
the opportunity and especially if it doesn't have to be me if it can be I have brilliant team
14:26:14 Members. If one of the brilliant team members can go and come to a meeting answer questions, we would welcome those invitations and as soon as we can kind of get more in the
rhythm, then it'll be also easier for us to say hey?
14:26:26 Something's coming up and we want to get on the agenda.
14:26:29 I clearly don't want to speak about what was previous to me, but in the parks I previously worked at I have community members.
14:26:37 That would email me and say, Hey, Sulla, that thing that's coming up the rotary sure would like to hear about it.
14:26:43 The else would like to hear about it, and we would just find a time in the schedule, and sometimes it took a few months, especially with the weather.
14:26:51 We were just talking, about driving today, you know, January and February is a little spicy with driving, even though I come from New York and I'm used to driving and snow and
ice so I welcome.
14:27:01 It. I am a public policy person, which means that to have public policy means you have to consult with the public and I believe in it, and so I would welcome it.
14:27:13 So I would just I'll throw that out, and I'm sorry, Commissioner Dean.
14:27:17 That's a little bit of a broader answer to that.
14:27:19 But I think it's important because I don't.
14:27:20 I don't know who else is what other stakeholders are here, and they're thinking, hey?
14:27:26 We have some questions, just you know, email, and we can get something on the calendar if especially people can be a little bit flexible on the timing. Oh, sorry! Oh, you're
gonna say something.
14:27:36 Could I could I just respond that? And you know, I think, hearing from my colleagues in Columb County. How much?
14:27:46 How how much overlap there is with the Park service.
14:27:50 Frankly, I just get a little bit jealous, so maybe if you could just put in your mind the idea that, like if you're consulting with clam it might be good to check in with Jefferson
as well, or you know think of us on kind, of Parallel, I think it would be
14:28:04 Different if, if, say, the dose swallows, access was still there, it would be different like we we would have more contact, but I think we get kind of left out of conversations
just because there isn't a lot of nexus the West end is bit of an exception but we feel very far from the West.
14:28:18 End. And so just if I could put in that little plug
14:28:22 Yep, and every county right, so Delaware Water Gap was in 2 different states.
14:28:29 5 different counties, each county and 24 townships.
14:28:33 So each county had a different need, had a different, and certainly the counties had a very different some places.
14:28:40 One and more visitors. Some place it says, you know. Maybe you have to feel a little bit too much, and so it it also was very important to kind of attune.
14:28:50 Honestly, it's reading a lot of newspapers is how I kind of get attuned to what's happening.
14:28:54 But the dosey Wallops, I feel, would I feel that Gerald might be able to answer some of those questions a little bit more than I would.
14:29:02 We'll, we'll see. So so I guess.
14:29:06 One thing that you probably know is that most of our infrastructure has been built in these river rain environments, right China Valley is a good one.
14:29:13 Let me call Springs! Row! The whole so as you can imagine, with climate change, we're we're seeing significant issues at a lot of these areas right I'm not just saying this
for the dosey, but it's it's a big challenge for us to try to rethink what that.
14:29:26 Looks like. I don't think we have the magic bullet on this at this point, and unfortunately, I I think that it's a it's a real struggle for us to figure out how to shift managed
for access in some of these areas like those who wall ups on the call springs road the
14:29:41 Hope, and and rethink infrastructure. Right?
14:29:46 Do we need to figure providing campgrounds and ranger stations up in these areas that are so remote that we can't maintain access of the long. Term.
14:29:55 So I don't have an answer for you about that.
14:29:57 See to be honest with you. I I do think that I I like the concept of other types of access into the park.
14:30:06 I see people using Olympic College brings road similarly to how your those who will see the market or dogs I I think it's a nice shift from a structured access and that typical
what we used to do and what can we do in the future sorry that's a
14:30:29 Very broad answer to you. It's I really appreciate Zula, your answer about communication and being there, and that's you know.
14:30:37 That's the biggest step, I think, for for all of us is public policy folks.
14:30:43 I'm wondering if you guys. Are are you talking to the Forest Service and other stakeholders in that area?
14:30:47 Because that is a complicated intersection down there it is.
14:30:53 And so I have had the opportunity to meet with the supervisor of the far service, as well as several other I'm still getting to know all the different Federal and State and
the local and every place calls things stuff like differently and so I'm getting used, to a little bit of the
14:31:12 Nobenclature, but we are. I have slowly been able to do that.
14:31:16 The far service Supervisor and I have actually talked about, maybe in the spring trying to drive around the entire forest.
14:31:25 It's a very bad word, so I'm sure half the half of the folks online are laughing on the average.
14:31:30 I say that word. The wooded area that the Forest Service runs so bring a little east coast but we want to kind of go around and look at things and look very honestly about where
we can coordinate efforts right we're both the Federal government we do work with 2 different departments but that
14:31:51 shouldn't. That should be a positive right. We should be able to offer a greater diversity of experience, so in general we don't have a lot of areas.
14:32:01 Where you can mountain bike and national parks. But the first service actually does have quite a bit beautiful set.
14:32:08 So I think that there's actually some synergy there, and since we're both relatively new, I think that also right, we we both are coming from it looking from an outside perspective
which is helpful especially when we have a lot of very invested people especially in the part that have been here so you get both that
14:32:24 Inst institutional knowledge, and the hey? Why do we do this?
14:32:28 That's great. Thank you. I'll take this moment to introduce our chair.
14:32:32 Heidi Eisenhower, back from canvasing board, and I'll pass the punch back over to you.
14:32:35 We had more ballots than ever to review today. So it was the longest meeting, according to Philip Hunsucker, that he's ever sat through. So sorry.
14:32:45 I wasn't here quite excited about this agenda item, and had the opportunity to talk with Mr.
14:32:49 Bowen about it, and Dnr. Field trip last summer.
14:32:53 And I think that's what populated this getting on the agenda, because I came back and said: Greg so I don't know what you guys talked about about the chile.
14:33:01 But let's be excited to hear advisory group, going miss the opportunity to comment on the Eis.
14:33:09 They should have consid considering options this year right by early 23. I think
14:33:17 Okay? So where are we? Adding that we're just having an open conversation now?
14:33:25 Kate had asked one question. I don't know, Kate, if you have any other questions or comments that you wanted to go through
14:33:31 No, I am. I'm curious how you are thinking about the the question of or the issue of kind of loving our parks to death.
14:33:39 You know it's a great problem that so many people are using the park, and yet infrastructure is such a challenge, and we share that challenge with you both the cost of it and
the so so much of it being built, and probably not where we would choose to put it today and yeah, just would love to hear
14:34:01 How you're kind of thinking about increase in use, increase in impacts, and you know it's it's it's tricky because you're in the in part in the business of of attracting visitors
to the parks and yet.
14:34:17 You know we're worry about the ecological balance of it, and then you know, it's sort of good for our communities to have a lot of visitors to the Park, but it it just begs
a lot of those same questions of how how do we accommodate them and mitigate the
14:34:32 impacts when we don't have the revenue to do so.
14:34:39 So I think that is, I think that is like the goal question right now.
14:34:44 The Park service overall, and not every park is being has seen an increase in visitation.
14:34:51 Some it's it's been uneven. So, according to our numbers, we are hovering Olympic National Park is hovering about the same amount of visitation.
14:35:00 We kind of go up and down a little bit. It seems pre actually consistent.
14:35:05 What I think people are actually seeing is a change in visitation patterns right?
14:35:10 That that's where you're going to see something slightly different.
14:35:13 So maybe there are more people day hiking, or more people doing overnight.
14:35:17 Hiking for the first time, and so I think that the visitation patterns are changing.
14:35:24 Certainly social media has played our role. So people see if a beautiful waterfall they take a picture and they mark the spot, and then everybody says, Oh, I want to go to that
waterfall and and we want to also be right and some of those resource concerns, can be pretty easily mitigated right so I
14:35:44 Have hiked. I grew up in the middle of nowhere, so I have hype in bear in Black bear country my entire life, and I know that you don't throw food to bears right that just that
kind of gets them used to but maybe if I didn't grow up in a place with a lot
14:36:01 of flat Bear. I wouldn't know that, and so some of that is some education about how to, you know.
14:36:06 Clap your hands, make yourself bigger. Don't feed the raccoon right like that's another thing I used to when I was down in Florida.
14:36:13 People would see the raccoons, and I'd say No, don't feed the raccoons not that they're not great animals, but don't feed them, and I think some of that level of education I
think there's also going to need to be a look at the people at one time.
14:36:27 Is the metric that is used for a visitor. Use management in the park.
14:36:29 Service, and I think there will be some time where we'll have to look at people.
14:36:34 At one time in spots, maybe in a camping spot, maybe on a trail, and there are different ways to do that.
14:36:41 But it's a scientific field. It's not a Sulla says there's too many people here that is a there's a very, very scientific field of stuff that we have an entire department in
the park.
14:36:51 Service devoted to and so I'm also going to pass this on to Megan, who might be able to offer a slightly different perspective.
14:36:59 I came from a place that before Covid, in 2,019, had 3 and a half 1 million visitors so kind of close to Olympic the next year during Covid, 2,020 we had 4 point Oneish 1 million
and in 2,021 we had 4 Point, 5 million so within
14:37:15 2 years we increased by a 1 million, and what we did was we didn't walk in there and say, we're park service.
14:37:22 We know best what we did was we said, What's or people looking for?
14:37:27 Why are they looking for? And can we provide it? And if we can provide it, maybe there's other places we can be working with, and so we were really doing a lot of adaptive management
and talking to people talking, to our township our county who had concerns because of there was a lot of trash, and
14:37:45 And but also, it brought in a lot of revenue.
14:37:49 And you know, what did that mean? And how could the township that you know was getting a lot of people?
14:37:53 How could they benefit from that added revenue? So I do see it as I'm a I'm a very big fan, I mean.
14:38:01 These are public lands, people should be able to use them and enjoy them.
14:38:04 The really important thing. The group before us, with public health and right I mean all I kept thinking is like my being able to be outside this weekend for about at the Elwah
and at Hurricane for about 6Â h or 7Â h was really good for me good prescription. Right like it is it was a good
14:38:23 Healthy thing for me to do but I'm gonna pass it over to Megan and see if she wants to give it a different perspective.
14:38:28 Sure talk right into the mic. So that's the only way the public can hear.
14:38:38 So I come from a much less visited park or Vancouver.
14:38:43 It's not nearly as popular and busy, but I am a lifelong Washingtonian, and so I'm really proud of our parks.
14:38:50 And it's it's great to see so many people coming in and experiencing Olympic.
14:38:54 But that issue as well as said of of parks being loved to death, is definitely, or, you know, kind of becoming what I call velvetine rabbits where they just are getting a little
worn down or certain facilities are getting used more than they had originally been designed for is an
14:39:13 Issue that a lot of parks are facing. I think that educating, as as Susula said, educating visitors who are maybe new to parks or or getting out for the first time because they
were inspired during the panel making sure that they know what the rules are about going into wilderness
14:39:32 Areas is important and also I mean I just I'm I feel like I'm just echoing Soula, really.
14:39:38 But but working with partners is absolutely really important and making sure that everybody is on the same page and working towards a common goal of of people being able to
appreciate these places and preserving them long-term I mean on that note the preserving them long term and back to Gerald you talked a little
14:39:57 Bit about, you know climate change, and you know many national park sites are really impacted by climate change.
14:40:20 In a $2020,000,000 Federal lands Access project that, you know.
14:40:26 Feel short-sighted to me honestly cause I just like, are we really going to be able to maintain that road in perpetuity?
14:40:33 So I guess what they what is. Well, we had a we were part of a pilot study last year, and it was if evaluating all of our river rain infrastructure or the long term and then
they can.
14:40:47 Back with us on these these kind of long, short term and long term kind of recordations for us, and that's spanned everything from basically abandoned the riverine environments.
14:41:00 Rethink your infrastructure for the next 50 years right to potentially just re repairing in place. But you know
14:41:09 Planning the structures. And so they were more economic or environmentally friendly structures, and you know, like, allow floods to pass under them, etc.
14:41:20 Again the park service can be a little slow to react, because those are kind of longer term planning goals for us.
14:41:28 We? We do have a lot of those projects in our system now.
14:41:30 But but again we're like in 5, 1015 years out before any of those can come to fruition a I would say that you know not only are we experiencing those issues along these these
rivering environments, but the coast of bluffs as well in the they're going can't remember if you all
14:41:48 Extend all the way down the clay lock, or if you're just north yeah, but we're staying a lot of erosion issues there with with that large environment. We we think they're probably
a couple of cabins to share the quite close oh, really yeah, and so that in our campground is threatened
14:42:03 As well. So we're seeing impacts all around from a resource perspective.
14:42:09 At this point, we're just monitoring those impacts and change over time.
14:42:14 I think it it. We we don't really have good answers for what the impacts of climate change is gonna be because it's happening happening.
14:42:20 So rapidly for us, whether it be you know, species, that we need to move up in elevation, you know, from different plan species to animals, anyway, I think there's lots of unknown
associated with.
14:42:33 I wish I had more answers for you. So they may have some better ones.
14:42:37 I mean I think about dosey wallops, too, and the washouts out down there, and some of the difficulties in getting that road reopened were, you know, you have to go back?
14:42:46 To Congress to get this wilderness. Land redesignated as Parkland, and so the n National Park Service has to deal with the Forest Service and the Legislature all at the same
time to get anything moving and it seems like all of these nexus are in that so I guess my hope is that to
14:43:02 Be bureaucracy of it is. Get some, get some lubrication for sure.
14:43:09 So I don't think you guys have done public comment yet, we have that on the agenda for this, and there are a number of folks with us on line.
14:43:19 So are we ready for public comment, everyone ready for bubble comment.
14:43:25 Okay, so to the folks who are with us there's a few on the phone.
14:43:29 So if you're on the phone and you're interested in making a public comment, you can press Star 9 on your phone and your hand will be raised.
14:43:37 And we'll bring you over, and then star 6 to unmute.
14:43:40 If you are with us on zoom, and you would like to make a public comment.
14:43:44 Please use the raise hand button at the bottom of your zoom screen, and we'll bring you over for public comment, and if you are physically in the room with us nice to see you,
Mr.
14:43:57 Bowen, and I'm sure you have a comment. You get the first chance to make a public comment
14:44:05 Okay. Okay. Well, let's see if I'm seeing a hand.
14:44:09 Yep, Jeff Chapman, that's interested in making a comment.
14:44:13 Again. If you're on live, if you're on the phone and wanna make a public comment, you can press Star 9 and we'll bring you over, and if you're on Zoom you can use the raise
hand Button afternoon Assessor Chapman back country Jeff
14:44:29 Good afternoon, Commissioners, you know I had to make make a comment on this I I've involved in recreation on the Olympic Peninsula for about 40 years, maybe 50 years and I
was involved in the chile that we know in the 2,014 movement initially we both work to get it on
14:44:48 The historic register, and then the mules that moved it were from members of our back country or asmen group who are are still using their mules and their actually maintaining
the bogus shield river corridor coming out to undy road which is also the pacific
14:45:06 Northwest trail route that'll come out, and I am was on the Advisory Council for the Pacific Northwest Trail, and then it'll come out and then they still got to find a way when
you get out to one to one to get across the goodman block of rainier and
14:45:21 Out the oil city so it reconnects to the National Park, out at the ocean somewhere.
14:45:26 Whether they cut down the Goodman Creek footpath, or whether they go all the way down to Oil City one way or the other, and come back up.
14:45:32 But I we've also started a group this year called the Olympic Peninsula Recreation Collaborative.
14:45:37 That was actually started by Kelly Lawrence, the Olympic National force, Supervisor, and her staff.
14:45:45 And we we did a meeting in fact, I I met the Park superintendent and Olympia at their headquarters, and you know that we're hoping that this gets funded and continues on into
23 the collaborative that tries to get all the
14:45:58 agencies and all the nonprofits to sit down and work on issues together.
14:46:03 And we talked a lot about the dose of Wallops, and and you know as well as a Pacific Northwest trail, so it'd be nice if Olympic National Park is involved in that in next year
if this does get continue there are a lot of issues to talk
14:46:19 About I mean Ebikes. Can you take an e-bike up to the Olympic National Park, those waltz campground?
14:46:24 I mean that road hasn't been vacated yet.
14:46:25 So in theory you could so, like all of those kind of weird issues that come up and and we've also tried to plan reroutes around the the existing wash out before el corn, which
is not it's good for hikers it's actually good for horses but it's terrible
14:46:40 for bicyclists. So you know those are the kind of issues we talk about, and we hope that going into the next year, if this continues at the 11 National Park stays involved
14:46:52 Thank you.
14:46:53 Thanks, thanks, Jeff, is there anyone else with us online this afternoon who would like to make a comment on this?
14:47:00 Item on our agenda about the chalet and the enchanted valley in Olympic National Park, or the conversation we've been having for the last more than 30Â min about Olympic National
Park if so use the raise hand button at the bottom of your Zoom
14:47:16 Screen and if you're on the phone you can press Star 9 and we'll bring you over to make a public comment.
14:47:21 I'm not seeing any other hands go up. So the microphone is all yours, Mr.
14:47:27 Bowen. Yeah, thanks for driving all the way over LED Bowen.
14:47:34 And I, May, and if you can talk right into the so, the people online can hear you at Boeing and I'm a parks citizen.
14:47:43 And yes, the the chile is a very important thing to me, because it's the culture of this peninsula, and this chalet was a part of the reason.
14:47:52 This park was created for this chalet to be lost.
14:47:57 Is a loss to why this park was created. The chalet was actually a part of the creation of this park.
14:48:05 It's not just a cultural resource. It's not just a piece of infrastructure.
14:48:10 It's not just something threatened by the river or the avalanche shoot which is kind of news to me to.
14:48:15 But it is the reason this park was created. I am glad to hear today what I haven't heard over the past quite a few months that a even though a decision hasn't been made on what
to do about the chile the decision is going to be to remove the chalet I didn't hear that
14:48:36 Today. So I hope the the my site in all of this is a decision.
14:48:41 Has not been made on what to do about the chalet, or what in in consultation how to mitigate that chile, I hope that decision is not been made, and that the affected communities
of this entire peninsula in mason county and Grace harbor county and Clallam County in Jefferson County all
14:49:02 4 counties are represented by that piece of culture, and then in last, I actually want to leave a question great and more American outdoor Act.
14:49:11 It'd be lovely if the part could share with us.
14:49:14 What is our next, or thought of what might be a great American outdoor act project in the park? Thank you.
14:49:23 And before we get an answer I'll just remind people if they want to get in line to make a comment.
14:49:28 They can use the raise hand button at the bottom of the zoom screen, or press Star 9.
14:49:32 If you're on the phone. It's a great question.
14:49:36 We don't actually know. We submitted quite a few projects for the great American Outdoors Act.
14:49:43 We, as I said we did get one of the first.
14:49:48 So there are, you know, quite a few 400 odd other 370 odd other parks that are also in the queue.
14:49:56 But we remain ready. But we're not only focused on the great American outdoors.
14:50:01 Act we will look for literally, I mean we we go for a lot of different funding sources for both. Gosh!
14:50:07 We wastewater systems is a big one. We have a wastewater system that just got completed at Log Cabin.
14:50:13 We have one at part of the hills? Right is the next one coming up.
14:50:16 We have another one that we're queuing up.
14:50:19 We're looking at housing issues. We we don't.
14:50:22 We don't wait for the opportunity to pose itself to us.
14:50:25 We are well prepared for in case there are questions about, hey?
14:50:30 If you and we have a lot of projects. As Gerald said, our project, Timeline is usually about 5 to 10 years out from idea.
14:50:40 If we get lucky to have it funded, then it goes designed, and that takes about a year to 2 years and then actual construction, which takes about 2 to 3 years, depending on if
we're in the economy of Covid, where things just take a little bit.
14:50:53 Longer, to opening. So it is actually a pretty extended. But but no, I I would also always welcome if people have ideas about things that they're seeing asset-wise that could
use some maintenance we're interested in hearing what those are because having you know we have at our peak about 300 people
14:51:10 Working for the park. Bye, we have 3 plus 1 million people visiting, which means that somebody's gonna see something that we haven't seen.
14:51:19 So take a picture, send an email so that way we can say, Oh, hey!
14:51:23 There is that that we might need to be thinking about
14:51:27 That's a great question, though I love that question
14:51:31 Any other, no other hands went up online anybody out anyone there.
14:51:39 I'm giving him Papazi. I don't.
14:51:42 I don't think any other hands are gonna go up because I've said it now 4 times.
14:51:46 So any other questions in the room. Kate or Greg?
14:51:49 I I guess you know I great appreciation for coming out.
14:51:53 And you know, opening this line of communication, you know I think we've talked about a lot of issues that are important to us.
14:51:58 To or us, but I'd love to know what are the what are the challenges?
14:52:02 I don't really know about how you guys get funded.
14:52:06 I mean you're talking about, you know, going out for grants to to get projects done, and what are the biggest challenges funding and staffing that the Olympic National Park
is facing and then I would throw in what are you gonna do about all those Cars on the road it's every
14:52:18 time I drive out to the the beach. There's like hundreds of cars on highway that goes out to Rialto parked in the ditch or on the side of the road.
14:52:28 I mean, what are we gonna do about the capacity and demand I think there's no easy answer to the visitor.
14:52:44 They did a visitor use, though we did work with an unnamed county.
14:52:49 I don't want Commissioner Dean to getting a shuttle up and up to her bridge, and that is a really good idea that we should be really thinking about is it?
14:53:03 There's probably some really neat, hybrid way we could do both the shuttle and have people drive and and figure out how to make that work.
14:53:10 I don't think anybody knows the answer, and very honestly we're probably going to make mistakes on an answer, and y'all are going to hear it, and we're going to hear it and
it's going to just take us a little while to figure out what the good answer is for that summer
14:53:24 And then I guarantee you the next summer totally different things happening, somebody, you know.
14:53:30 Then it's the clonal that is, and so we gotta be.
14:53:33 We gotta be thoughtful about that most of our for those big projects other than things that are for Federal highways which clearly comes from Federal highways.
14:53:43 We'd have an internal funding process. So this is the time right now.
14:53:47 That we're putting projects into a system, and I'll pause and say, This is very complicated.
14:53:53 So at some point, talking about the parts, services, budget, or the parks, budget, or we can have a whole session, and we would probably wanna actually do a power point.
14:54:02 But since this is sort of my background I'm going to wait a little bit ankle deep in it.
14:54:06 So we put in projects, it competes against other parks, projects.
14:54:11 We do have some money that is mostly pretty, typically allocated for cyclic things, so things that we know trails is the thing that is coming to my head.
14:54:21 Roofs, sometimes depending on how quick, so we know that a roofs life cycle is 15 years.
14:54:27 If we're at year 10 we should be putting in, because we know 5 years from now a slate roof is going to need to get replaced so, and then we have larger projects and those larger
projects do take years and those competition is really really high right.
14:54:41 So it's it's not just Olympic is trying to get the money.
14:54:46 It's Olympic versus every place, so it's against Yellowstone, and and really weighing those those things.
14:54:52 And that's really important, and I don't envy the people that have to make that decision in the Washington DC.
14:54:57 Level, but and all that to be said is that that all takes time contracting takes time doing proper design.
14:55:04 Takes a lot of time, especially if you're being as genius as our project engineer did.
14:55:10 The wastewater at Log Cabin, which is amazing.
14:55:14 Instead of cutting down a bunch of trees on the north side of Crescent, the the piping goes around the trees, and it's just it's amazing right and and that took a lot of thought
and took a lot of creativity and giving the team the ability to do.
14:55:31 That and so I would say the greatest opportunity we have is, we have an impassioned public who loves the park, and that is, that is huge.
14:55:39 I've as I already said, I mean these are just 2 of the, you know, 298 other amazing people.
14:55:45 That we get to work with who are experts and in like.
14:55:49 Take the addition, and think creatively and care so much. So I just want. I appreciate to look at the challenges. What I'm looking at is I get to work with, the community and
the team that are going to find the solutions and that's what I care about is solution
14:56:07 Hey, Kate!
14:56:10 Yeah. I wanna build a little bit on what our assessor, Jeff Chapman talked about, and and he mentioned the Pacific Northwest National Trail.
14:56:20 We also have the great American rail trail, which you know we will be coming through the area.
14:56:27 Something we've looked at for the our portion of the Olympic Discovery trail here, and Jefferson is the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which of course, access to a national
park.
14:56:34 Is one of the eligible uses so just curious, for for some of these projects that the count is wants to engage on.
14:56:43 But frankly has limited capacity to do so is, you know.
14:56:49 Do you see opportunities for partnership on some of those grants?
14:56:53 Do you have staff? Who who we could be partnering with and if public works is listening, don't worry.
14:56:59 I'm not committing you to anything. But is that?
14:57:02 Do you are, are those kinds of projects of interest to you, and let me just say I I forgot I was gonna call out the new shuttle to hurricane Rich which I think, is so awesome
so great job
14:57:12 So the land, Water Conservation Fund is not usually managed within a particular park.
14:57:17 It's managed sort of by area, and there's also river and trail grants that are made to external organizations and counties, and that once again the linkage is a river or trail
that goes in or near a national park so what we can do is the park team is probably
14:57:39 Not the right experts, but we do have experts and we could certainly, if we know far enough that it avails, or they could probably do it virtually, since it seems like you all
are really good at that we could probably have an expert join and be able to answer very specific questions about that that is a different kind
14:57:55 of funding than we normally work in, and so it has particular rules that I'm not very familiar with I would assume that that's true for yeah, okay, so we had another member
of the public raised their hand while we were talking so Gene Ball welcome and you'll have 3Â min for questions or comments.
14:58:14 About this topic
14:58:16 Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you. To the Parks for engaging in the conversation.
14:58:24 Thank you for sharing the information, and I it may go without saying. But I'm gonna say it anyway, but you have found yourself in a community which is very very supportive
of the Olympic.
14:58:40 National Park and I think that you will find that if you have projects that need support, you will find support here.
14:58:47 I don't know what other community activism you have experienced in your previous jobs with other parks, but this is a place that is very ripe for collaboration so I I hope you
will discover that I'm wondering.
14:59:05 If you could give us an update on the status of the wash out, and if or when a new bridge will be available, thank you
14:59:20 Well, thank you very much, and yes, it it is.
14:59:23 I very much from actually, since the announcement in I think it was late.
14:59:29 May that I got the job? I have felt of the very warm embrace of the entire Peninsula area, including I can't even count the number of emails of jealousy that I have gotten of
somebody saying I don't believe that is where and the long list of people that will be visiting me
14:59:48 To stay at my house, like, so I appreciate that, and I join you in that love the Olympic Coffee Springs Road, which is the road that kind of zigzags over the lap we are probably
taking a step back right now we're in internal conversations about.
15:00:09 It I I don't have much more information than that, but we understand people's passion and care when we come out of those internal conversations in I'm guessing the number the
within the next 12 or so months we do expect there to be a public period to comment and let us know what your thoughts are but
15:00:29 We're not there yet. We're definitely in the discussion phase right now.
15:00:33 But thank you so much for the question, and also thank you for reinforcing what I already know, which is Olympic National Park is the best absolutely I'm gonna make one last
call does anyone have a last question.
15:00:47 Or last comment about the enchanted Valley chalet or Olympic National Park.
15:00:55 Anyone excited to have met our colleagues from Olympic.
15:00:58 National Park today and want to express their gratitude for them.
15:01:03 If not, I'm gonna close public comment on this topic, and I don't.
15:01:09 Thanks so much thanks for being here
15:01:15 Thanks for making the trip. But not this meeting. Yeah, it was waiting this morning
15:01:26 Okay. Well, I think that was the last thing. Yeah, it was a wild pre certification election certification meeting over 200 ballots to consider 200.
15:01:46 Yeah, wow. Yeah, so we yeah, I was up there an hour longer than I thought it would be so sorry.
15:01:53 Sorry but for my absence, but watch the tape.
15:01:56 Great presentation by public health as well. 30 right.
15:02:05 And then on the ballot, we should sign you up for one of the email.
15:02:12 You can yeah, there were a number of other issues with ballots, but there were, I think, almost 100 contested signatures, and so we were able to resolve and accept about 15
of them not too bad yeah, it's, always it's always a little daunting being
15:02:31 On a committee with a committee of 3 with Phil Hunsucker, who's like he's he's done it for so long that he's very he's like a stew at it and it was like the first year we were
disagreeing I'm like.
15:02:43 Oh, no! And then I was like okay. So anyway, that was a good process.
15:02:49 But it's definitely a really important part of the elections.
15:02:53 Process. Yeah. So boards and commissions I am off my sync.
15:03:00 Here we have anything. Attached to the agenda.
15:03:04 Okay, how are we doing anymore? Spots get filled?
15:03:09 I I was thinking I gotta follow up with the other Greg on on snow Creek road about the weed board, but I haven't done it yet.
15:03:18 Okay, the last thing I was able to do is find the Piff Board member.
15:03:24 Or district 2. Now we need to small business. What's the last one?
15:03:30 Looks like conservation futures, is still working on a couple but the piff opening there's still one piff opening.
15:03:37 Yeah. Public. Oh, it's a district 3. Yeah. So
15:03:48 They can send, may have 21 Yup. There's still a vacant there that's on me.
15:03:54 Yeah, and then we'd board
15:04:00 Rain resources. District one alternate. That was with how an egg resigning
15:04:08 Hey! Heidi on that one? Do you know, if you know some boards really like to do their own recruitment and maybe don't want us dabbling in that.
15:04:17 Do you know where the Mrc. Is on that? Are they wanting help?
15:04:21 Are they doing that recruitment internally.
15:04:25 When Liz was appointed. It was not. Unless did you recruit her cause, I my understanding.
15:04:32 Was it was internal to the the Mrc. So I can ask.
15:04:36 I'll ask Monica
15:04:38 Yeah, I don't think I don't think we have done recruitment for Mrc before
15:04:43 Okay.
15:04:46 So it looks like I have some work to do on conservation features.
15:04:51 And anyway, just review the list and rattle your Rolodex.
15:04:56 Do so. So the fairy advisory committee any special qualifications needed for that cause.
15:05:04 There is, you gotta have a business. I think that uses the ferry right
15:05:07 Or or represent a ferry users of commercial interest, and I thought we had a an applicant, so I will.
15:05:19 I will double check a couple of times. I've said they were going to, so I'll I'll double check that I did do some outreach with the port on that they sent that add up to their
mailing list.
15:05:29 Too, so I've been doing some footwork, but not successfully, apparently
15:05:37 Okay, well, is there anything else for the good of the order today that we want to talk about? Hey?
15:05:46 When are you coming west again
15:05:49 I'll be back on Wednesday. Yeah.
15:05:51 Okay, tapping your lapping your heels together. Alright, Dorothy, don't forget on your basket
15:05:54 Yes. Yeah.
15:06:00 But I won't be there long, so
15:06:06 And like much rather
15:06:02 Kansas. Come to Washington. Well, there's nothing else I will adjourn this November 2822 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners.
15:06:15 Thanks. Everybody. Thanks a lot.
15:06:16 Thank you.